


Phoenix Tears

by DepressedPuppet



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Body Horror, Family, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Gen, Horror, Long ass story, No Romance, Psychological Horror, and how could yous, title sounds like author's got chuunibyo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-10-06 13:32:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10335746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedPuppet/pseuds/DepressedPuppet
Summary: Tsunayoshi Sawada was a kid who coped by suicide methods, which for whatever reason failed him every time. A Sawada Tsunayoshi from another world established contact with him after many tries and tries to pass on his knowledge after an attack from Byakuran killed his famiglia and keeps him as war spoils to extract information by any means possible Read to find out what happens





	1. Murphy's law

**Author's Note:**

> Khr ain't mine
> 
> ' ... ' - thoughts
> 
> " ... " - words
> 
> If there are any grammatical errors or inconsistent facts, feel free to write a review
> 
> Do that if you got any questions regarding the story too, or any comments
> 
> Please do, cos it's like writing blind here
> 
> Warning: Depressing stuff here

  
**Murphy's Law**

****

  
**Chapter 1**

****

When the going gets tough, you persevere! You aim for something beyond yourself, for a greater cause-

To make your parents proud

To make your friends happy

To make your team win

To learn something new

To ...

You aim for a goal- for acceptance. You need a reason to survive

Maybe it's to eat all the delicious goodies the world can cook up or maybe it's to see the wonders it has to offer- the ingenuity of mankind or the beautiful accidents of nature

Or maybe it's the sense of fullfillment which comes with helping someone out in need and make a difference. It's a need to connect with others, to belong somewhere

You are living to fulfill some purpose. There's a reason why you exist. There is someone who needs you and only you- yes you ,from the 2 billion (and counting) people in the world

And the universe exists to be explored and was made in the way it is currently for a reason

'Bah. I'm not living for any of those. I just don't have the courage to die'

Eyes looked at a shiny blade at a table across the room wistfully. They darted to the slumped posture of the male sitting on a small bed in a comparatively small cozy room

The room although tiny, had pictures with a family around a boy with spiky auburn hair and hazel huge eyes. It had toys like cards, video games and books of the middle school level ,others being of comics

It looked that of a room of a totally average middle school boy

The boy absentmindedly swept his eyes through the room taking in its contents ,but did not move an inch. He remembered searching 'painless, fast ways to die'

Ignoring the search results which came up with therapy sites or phone numbers -because he was fine thank you very much- and checking things out for reference sakes (yes purely)

He saw statistics of how painful and how successful some methods were, the topmost being a gun shot with a 99% success rate and the lowest being 6% at cutting wrists... made him glare at how complicated dying would be

Picking up the knife which wasn't made for slicing at human skin, but rather fruits (and yes their skin, note fruit -not human) he sat back on top of the bed with a flop, releasing all his energy from yet another unfullfilling day ,making the bed creak loudly in protest... just like his palpitating heart

It screeched out an SOS, clearly not willing to die

It was backed up by his body- his hair stood straight ,opposing the foreign danger. His muscles were tense, his breathing shallow. He took stiff gulps as his mind fought a one army battle against the rest of his body which were begging him to see reason

His fingers trembled against the knife handle, the blade close to his wrist

'And here I am struggling against the 6% success rate , but most-easy-way-I-can-die method... It's a mouthful. I'll shorten it into MEWID...

...Where was I?

Ah right'

He opened a notebook beneath his bed

'Experiment 40: date xx/xx/xxxx

From previous experiments...' he peeled his long sleeves back to see cuts at his upper arm

'cut wounds burn and don't disappear. Blood clotting on failed attempts give feelings of dizziness, and reduce capacity to think or analyze making school a lot harder. Which in this case ,makes the group x have more followers or more passive followers. So, more people don't want to get involved and more people engage in giving more bruises -which increases medical budget for months coming'

He felt too tired to clean up the 'bruises of the day' and opted to jot down the observation

He then flipped to the next partition of the book and crossed out cutting

'It's too obvious and will make a pity story. Mom would be upset and dad... maybe would come back for the funeral... which is the only good thing here

And they'll be the spot light of Namimori. Plus...'

He thought back on the day's event. He was at the school gate, preparing himself to limp back to school when he saw the chairman of Namimori middle school. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the prefect focussing on his biceps

'That guy might know...

Who am I kidding! That demon's got better people to bite. I'm not damaging Namimori in anyway, I'm helping it- in fact. Reducing the population and removing one nuisance from the town...' His lips quivered by the end of it

He cleared his thoughts. And moved to the next thing in his check list; Drowning

He had a tub in his bathroom and it seemed painless. And his mother thought that he was careless enough to drown himself ...Plus she thought he absent mindedly swallowed the bleach at the bathroom. He even remembered her specific words

"Oh! Tsu-kun! What can I do with you? You've got my genes when it comes to being careless" she said, eyebrows furrowing and her lips forming a stiff smile

'It must have been her tension fading'

He reminisced the day.

_That day, he had read online that bleach ingested could kill a person very fast, seeing that a lot of articles he found, told of people dying from swallowing the powder or the liquid form_

_It tasted salty with a sour taste, but he could forgoe it's flavor- the end justifies the means after all. His stomach was doing flips that day. He made his mother accustomed to a new habit he developed for the scenario to happen- he conditioned her to allow him to store his snacks at the bathroom_

_He first started taking them there for twice a week, claiming that he'd need all the time he could to study so that he could pass for once_

_Then it became thrice, then 4 times... and finally everyday in the week_

_The plan was perfect. He was a clumsy blubbering fool who tripped over nothing... so if bleach fell on his snacks, it wasn't much of a deal right? He could say he never noticed he swallowed that much bleach- because as it turned out, his mother also called him absent minded, careless_

_He just didn't expect his body to be so uncooperative. His mind was gung ho with the operation ,since it was one of his biggest experiments- but his body... no, his body just had to protest! His eyes were swimming, his vision blurring and his mouth was choking on his breadth. His fingers shivered and didn't allow him to hold the bleach and snack piece near his partially open mouth- which did not open wider regardless of what threat his sobbing voice told it, his stomach felt like lurching whatever he wanted to ingest- just like the day he heard his mother was throwing expired pills and he decided to swallow them after he scavenged them from his garbage disposal can ;needless to say, he puked it all out, bile and everything tears burning in his eyes, vowing to get more poisonous pills next time if this was the result_

_The most horrible part of the plan was that in the end, his mind wanted out- voices filled his head_

_'Let me write something behind! I need to leave something behind- I don't want to die without letting them know -I don't want to be forgotten!'_

_But then, he shut it off with a glare- he was doing this because he didn't want to be the tragic hero. If he survived he'd be put on the suicide watch- a bad thing because there WASN'T ANYTHING WRONG with him_

_So he took a big breadth and munched on the snacks- food he considered a comfort ,appetizing to his past self, covered with the taste of harsh sour and salt which turned bitter sweet like some medicine_

_'Bases taste bitter and soapy ,like detergent' his chemistry teacher's voice rung inside him, making him quirk a smile at things he'd never thought he could remember popped up_

_But the smile was quickly gone as his body immediately rejected it. His eyes widened and his throat burned and he realized if he doesn't do something fast, he would fail. So he hurriedly swallowed the remaining of the food. His throat hurt and his vision was blackening and he felt the intense desire to puke everything out ,but he drank water not letting anything out until finally a ringing in his head became the loudest part of the experience ,and he couldn't see anything else_

_When he woke up, it was a shitty feeling_

_His mother was right outside the door and his ears ,probably heightened by his life threatening ordeal heard the conversation outside. It was with his mother and a ...cop_

_He couldn't hear everything, since he was in closed quarters_

_Apparently, his mother was being questioned for child abuse! That sweet lady who he was lucky enough to have as his mother was being accused for attempted murder!_

_He tried getting up, but he couldn't sit up, because his mouth had a TUBE lodged into him! He felt choked and immediately started coughing, alerting his mom and a dazed cop_

_Wait that wasn't the worst part- it was the first meeting with the accursed prefect- Hibari Kyoya, who made it his life long duty to make people uncomfortable- in Tsuna's case, it was giving an unnerving feeling that he KNEW_

_They came in and he immediately schooled his face into that of surprise, noting that the prefect widened his eye a fraction the moment he did that and started panicking about his current situation in as shrill of a voice he could- knowing that it would fluster them enough to not think too straight_

_His mother scolded him and he looked sheepish, still keeping the corner of his eye at the cop and the prefect. The incident ran smoothly from then on, with the cop having an impression of him that he was a bumbling idiot (something which he actively advocated to the police force and the Namimori inhabitants to prevent any further accusations. It was a win win- more experiments for him and his parents reputation was kept intact... leaving Hibari aside)_

_There was one thing he learnt from the issue: that he loved the thrill from surviving an experiment of his, especially because it did him or anyone else, no harm_

_Just then an intense stare came up to him from the mirror. It was a delusion that indulged him lately_

A person who looked just like him would look at him with an unreadable expression. They had his same orange spiky hair and hazel eyes. They had the same complexion, but lately they had the literal expression of a drowned rat. He meant their hair was so wet it stood down ...just like how defeated the actual person was

"What now? Another mafia incident?" he asked, tired but slightly interested. His delusion told him that he was a mafia boss (of all things) and whined to him about the details of his family's status, enemies and their general psychology... Like how he analyzed what they were thinking about, what their posture spelled, what kind of actions would they take

Since he was an abysmal student with bullying problems, he had no choice but to listen to his delusion talk and talk when he wasn't doing any experiments -simply because he had nothing else to do

His mirror image looked at him and told him sardonically

"Funny that the only person I can talk to always tries to kill himself. Don't you care that you're leaving me all alone in here? What's wrong?"

"Says a person who's the boss of a famiglia. Whether I live or not has no impact on your life. And for the last time, drop it! I'm completely fine!" the brunette bristled defensively at his mirror

"You're awfully defensive at a 'delusion' as you call it. I could put the same thing at you"

He didn't know why he bothered replying to his delusion. His experiments did do a toll on his mentality- like the bleach incident left him unable to eat any of his snacks ,not that his mom knew- she simply thought he was going healthy

"Okay, no need to glare"

"And you don't need to play tough with me. Your pupils are completely dilated and you're a soaking rat. Plus you're shivering and your body is closing on itself with how your hands are clutching your arms"

"Glad to see ,my lectures on behavior are getting to you"

"Why are you at a place which is triggering fear in you anyway? Your famiglia's not there to bust you out yet?"

"...

...

What famiglia?

...

They're dead. Byakuran Gesso killed them

"

Tsuna felt a pang of disappointment, since the brunette always spoke so enthusiastically about them. It was like an untouchable dream- a daydream. It seemed like his delusion was finally catching up to reality

"you said the guy was small fry. How badly did you screw up to get -"

"I was playing tough! Byakuran Gesso ruled all the other dimensions! Yours and mine were the only ones left! I thought ours would be the exception! You're there killing yourself and I'm here drowning!"

"Right, the 'parallel universes' 'Irie Shoichi ,Talbot and Spanner' duplicated "

"You're so damn skeptic! So I'm the delusion where my family and I don't and never existed huh?! What about the stuff you're hearing from me!? I'm passing information to you which is too densly packed to be considered imaginary!"

"Uh huh, so you were talking about drowning. I kept that as the next experiment. How's it like?" His twinkling eyes made the brunette on the mirror give him a dark, desperate expression

"...

...

..."

"Don't be so stingy. You have to share. Besides your confessions aren't gonna affect my decisions. I am going to try it out. I could just play the I slept in the bath excuse"

"...Do you honestly think... people don't suspect...

...

..." the delusion choked and started to answer ,when he saw that Tsuna was planning on changing his focus when he realized the mirror version of him wasn't going to tell him

"I'm a kind of war spoil... They want information from him

When I'm submerged in water... along with the starting splash, my ears get an echoing ringing and I hear bubbles from my mouth and the hand which grips my neck burns and won't let me emerge to the surface. After some time, my lungs and eyes burn and my brain feels heavy- I can't think of anything

Then my arms ,hands and toes curl up and my entire body convulses and it fills my lungs with something and makes me feel like my lungs are going to pop out and my heart's going on overdrive and it hurts so much... I don't want to do this anymore"

"...And why don't you?"

His delusion looked patronizingly at him

"Reborn, my tutor ,has trained me for worse. This is about prying from my dead body what my family and I are protecting"

"They're dead!"

"My famiglia might be...! But the Vongola still exists! And we're the Vigelante keeping the mafia in check. Byakuran's ideals... are too radical. They've cost my family their lives. I'd be damned if I can't even protect it!"

"Then die!"

The other Tsuna had a look full of despair as he looked over at him

"Byakuran, if nothing else... is persistent. I'll not be dying so soon. But I've called you for just one thing. It's my very last favor. I'll keep a recording of whatever transpires here, so you can see it whenever... Consider it my dying will"

"...Why?"

"Because you're going to be the next mafia boss of the story"

"In my universe, I'm not that important. And besides I'd rather die than have your kind of treatment"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, there is no universe where you are alive, since you're being targetted by Byakuran for his hunting sport, apparently. And don't interrupt me, I don't have the time to debate on this

Since you love those life threatening experiences of yours, watch these recordings... because it's a premonition of how your life is generally going to be. And my intuition says your life is going to be more painful than I could ever imagine"

"Pure conjectures!"

"Panicking already, Tsuna? Here's a thought. Know Hibari Kyoya?"

looking at the startled ,yet disdainful expression at his name, he continued

"There are people bound to you in every universe. Heed my words: these are people who're by your side, as in they play and share a major role of your or their life together- by whatever coincidence or luck you think you have; Hibari Kyoya, Rokudo Mukuro, Yamamoto Takeshi, Chrome Dokuro, Gokudera Hayato, Bovino Lambo and finally Reborn. There are other people who come in and out of your life sometimes in some parallel universes, but you've heard me speak of them-"

Tsuna threw the mirror on the ground ,not willing to entertain the mirror any longer. He sat on the edge of his bed and tried his bed to ignore the sound of water splashing as well as desperate gasping along with harsh questioning coming from the mirror

His hand trembled towards his notebook and scratched the drowning checkbox, tears burning as he heard the choking sounds from the mirror, his morbid curiosity not controling his actions as pure self preservation made him feel more scared than before

"It was bad enough that people pick on me at school. How can that be the rest of my life?! I refuse to believe it!

Refuse to! You hear me! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!

I refuse! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!

I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!

I refuse! I refuse!

I refuse!

Please! No! That can't be true!"

He sobbed into his blankets glancing at his clock

It read 6 pm

He had an hour before he was to reply cheerfully to his mother's

"Tsu-kun! Time for dinner!"

And he had to get his wounds coated with concealer by that time

But he was tired and his cuts were burning reminding him of how he messed up

His bruises reminded him of how badly he failed at being human, since he couldn't even get accepted by his own species

And the food his mom carefully made were fed to the ground everday by the people who in a way hung out with him

He looked again at the mirror

It's fine, one of the methods he noted should make his life as that of a firework... Without getting anyone a guilty conscious

It wasn't their fault he wanted to die... so badly

If just one Hibari Kyoya knows... it was fine, since no one would believe him... and he was fine with him thinking of the brunette as a weakling... since the demon prefect thought of everyone as weaker than him

The feeling that he'd disappoint someone was just his self preservation talking that's it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview:
> 
> "Herbivore"
> 
> Tsuna looked at the demon prefect glaring at him. Well it was natural ,seeing that he was holding a dead ,bruised up cat while he was muddied up like usual
> 
> He sighed ,waiting for a beating- ready to be accused of animal abuse
> 
> Because being muddied up- was expected of him, but the cat didn't deserve it
> 
> And it was all his fault


	2. Chapter 2

Khr ain't mine

If there are weird english usages, feel free to correct me. And if facts are contradictory ,please tell me. If you've got comments, feel free to review em

By the way, a **quick note** : 'He', 'Tsunayoshi' (references in ' ' mean the delusion, to make things less confusing)

And if the texts are in complete italic, it's not emphasis, but rather a flashback (in case it wasn't clear)

The chapter has a lot of interactions and flashbacks so give me a review if it was a snore to read through

I'm stopping with the rambling here, and let the story begin (or continue...)

* * *

**Zinnia**

**Chapter 2**

Namimmori was one of the safest places in the world. They had a disciplinary commitee which made the town out of the mafia's reach (which tells a whole lot bout the commitee in itself). The town was surrounded by trees everywhere, so much so that it was even mentioned in the middle school anthem. It made the town feel spiritual and peaceful

The town was inhabited by people with wide smiles. Said people had a boundless amount of energy. The biggest example was a boxer-captain (Is that a word) ran round the town for rounds in all sorts of positions for 'EXTREME training'... granted he was kind of a nuisance, but the disciplinary commitee gave up on him ,seeing that the boxer was like that his whole life. It was a lost cause as well as one of Namimori's seven wonders

Now there was only one grey area to this town. Somewhere down an alley, you could hear splutters from a person drowning

"Ahahaha. He has water coming from his nose! Ew there's snot too"

There were people forming a circle around a boy laughing at his pathetic attempts to take a good whiff, to increase his chances of survival when he was being repeatedly plunged into water .By the way said water source was a huge barrel

'I didn't want to drown! I crossed that option out so many times!' the brunette haired boy screamed to himself. His eyes warm and his nose dripping clogging his breathing system and forcing him to puff out through his mouth which was apparently funny for his tormentors.

"Hey guys! Listen to this dweeb! He's breathing like a pregnant woman. Who fucked you up so bad, Tsuna-chwan? Life? Ahahaha

Breathe with me Tsuna-chwan. Don't want you to be a party pooper with you fainting on us. Come on! Take a deep breath, then exhale through your nose. I said through your nose, idiot

Dame Tsuna can't follow simple instructions"

Then they proceeded to dump him back into the water

"Look that idiot's shivering in joy. Can't wait to be back in water eh? You're not a fish, Tuna... So we'll have to bring you back to the world. We're saints aren't we? lololol"

The water was cold and it was making him delirious and claustrophobic when he was submerged into the barrel. His mind wasn't telling him a single thing, when normally it haunted him with all sorts of words and he felt utterly alone

" _his hand gripped my neck tightly and forced me underneath. I couldn't fight back and it made whatever efforts my body made pointless"_

He rememberedthe one sided conversations the delusion of him told him in those days following his apparent recording. 'He' never replied to any of his hysterical remarks, ignored all his sobs when he was forced to see the mirror, since the sounds from the mirror when he didn't forced him to look back. It had been torture either way.

His house was a two storied individual house- an american dream. There were a lot of guest rooms which were locked and the keys were with his mother. He couldn't ask for the keys, since it was suspicious

He couldn't stay downstairs the whole time, because his mother thought of him as a lazy bum who wanted to forgoe his duties. But everytime, he stepped into his room, the mirror started playing as if his mere presence served as a trigger to continue playing

'His' choked words and voices along with the harsh questioning and laughter of 'his' torturers reminded him of his current predicament

Why did he go outside? If he stayed inside, his sanity would slowly die (What was his delusion thinking?! It was too traumatic to be a form of therapy for his suicidal tendencies... which he would protest was just him being an adrenaline junkie!) So his only solution was to go outside and being the easy target for his favorite and most frequent company, his bullies

Now he was doing a rather poor enactment of the torture his delusion experienced and he never meant for that to happen. It's just that he tripped with the shoes he'd acquired to make his clumsy act more solidified (No. Hibari Kyoya wasn't making him paranoid!) right into the frigid water barrel which was open for his entire life here. Matters were worse since it was sewage water (more like a collector for the sewage water which leaked there- leaky pipes and all) added to the fact that the town was chilly at mornings

He would probably get sick from this, but he had to go to school, else his 'friends' would show him how much they 'missed' him

Honestly the only good thing he got from his 'friends' was that his mom didn't get worried because the teacher didn't put in his report card that he was practically a loner

At long last, his bullies got bored and went away leaving him behind for a fast food joint.

'This is why I don't like friends. They're always such a pain! And I can't stop being ungrateful!' the brunette thought as his vision swam and his head ached while his nose ran a marathon. He got up drenched like a rat and chuckled at the irony of being the same thing he accused his delusion off

'Looks like a mafia boss and a loser are on the same boat' then he thought back to how grimy the place was and how the tormenters felt and looked like

'Scratch that. I'm at a better place'

* * *

His feet wobbled as he felt light headed as he squinted his eyes towards a source of rustling behind the bush and his body went immediately on the defense

'Round two?'

Then out from the bush came the cutest thing which kept him company in his miserable life, a shorthair -a orange cat, which he had dubbed Natsu

It was fierce just like everything in his life... but was surprisingly the only being that didn't hurt him. But it was annoying, that was it for sure

 _He met Natsu when he around 1_ _st_ _grade. Natsu was a kitten with cherubic eyes and fluffy puffed up cheeks. It was fed well, judging by the glowing aura it had emitted. It was also loved because it mewled and circled him like it was nobody's business_

_That and he regularly saw the kitten being given toys and shelter accessories_

_He on the other hand was regularly kicked by his classmates and playmates because he was absymmal in anything he did. It was like an arrow shot his small heart with how accepting the kitten was_

_He remembered ducking to touch its ears, but it didn't scratch him or yawn. It just looked attentively at him and purred_

_He also remembered being a complete loser and running straight home after that with a huge blush on his cheeks... and weeping pathetically after that_

_His mother had been worried and speaking in higher octaves, but being the incompetant he was, he couldn't make coherant words or understand what on earth she was saying_

_She was probably worried that her son became a nutcase, crying with no reason after coming back from school_

_But the following weeks from then, he knew... that he wasn't the nutcase, the kitten was_

_Those weeks had been horrible (what's new?). He had been caught crushing on his classmate, Sasagawa Kyoko. His classmates didn't take it lightly... in fact it's how he got some of his current 'friends'. He was alienated during playtime, recess and physical education but was surrounded by people after classes ended , playing 'kagome' with the girls and 'dodgeball' or 'tag' with the boys_

_(Kagome's a game where people make a closed circle around a person sitting at the centre and singing songs )_

_Granted the songs felt a bit malicious, but he could blame it on the first time he received so much attention from the girls_

_He also played hide and seek, with people forcing him to hide in the closet... but they just didn't find him later_

_But on the positive side, he learned how to pick locks blindfolded from that incident. It also made him very grateful for the food his mom packed him everyday... too bad, his 'friends' thought that he needed to be reminded this everyday since, with his lunch box on the ground_

_But that kitten followed him home everyday through the weeks. It licked him and it played around him and mewled and tried directing him to all the weird stuff it caught- like dead rats *shudder*_

_Its fur was so soft, he wanted his pillow to be that soft and warm. When he cuddled at a grass slope, he had the best sleep he had in ages_

_It was so strange... he didn't or couldn't being it food- remember lunch box meets ground?- nor could he bring anything cute for the kitten's house- apparently his female classmates considered it too girly to keep around and led him to another viscious beatdown_

_He was pretty sure he needed the kitten's company than it needed his... cos his classmates told it more positive and cheery stories and petted it to comfort it- but he needed to pet it to comfort himself and he was an absolute downer_

_He couldn't help it, the most positive of his stories made the very few people who talked to him CRINGE_

_But the kitten stayed... how irrational it was. There was nothing good in staying with dame-Tsuna_

* * *

Natsu looked at his drowned rat look that he now sported, making him wonder if this was going to be his new fasion for the month and sneezed loudly. He looked around frantically if someone heard that, but minutely relaxed when he saw that no one was around

The cat came up to him and rubbed itself on his knees, absorbing the water. Used to its antics, Tsuna spoke

"Natsu... you're better off not acting as a towel. It's sewage water... it's filthy" his eyes downcast and his lips turning to an irritated frown when he realized the cat wasn't listening and was on its way to his other leg

So he clicked his tongue and jerkily moved ignoring the surprised mewl from the cat

He moved a few steps ahead until the insistent cries from the cat stopped him. He released a sigh

"Ok fine, Natsu. I'll dry up and take a warm bath at my house. Now will you stop worrying?" He was reminded of how ridiculous he was talking to a cat and how stupid it was that it was a cat which was one of the sole reasons he was living (The other being his mom)

The cat stopped crying and instead opted to following him

He sighed again and stopped his lips from quirking upwards

His walk back home was upbeat, considering he was almost drowned by his 'friends'

When he reached home, he looked at the backyard tree and started climbing it- a habit he got when he came back bruised and beaten (which was painful at first). He was lucky his mom didn't sweat the details

Why did he care about what his mother thought so much in this regard?

_Well the first time he came bruised and beat up, his mother made him sit next to her as she advised him to not get into fights as if he was a delinquent_

_He also saw her posture- her knees crossed and her stomach pointing to the door exit, it was signs he was told by his newly met delusion. She said that a third grade student shouldn't act so rebellious and her eyes darted around his body and the wall behind him as if she was afraid he'd have an outburst and that all she wanted was to leave the house and talk to her beloved husband judging by the phone she gripped tightly in her hands. Her fingers were playing with the mobile screen as she chastised him. She was clearly into stating her opinions and her hair was tucking her ears, and she reinforced the position through out her conversation, not wanting to hear her son out_

_It felt like he was living a lie and it made him disbelieve his delusion. But when he stuck through the conversation and eavesdropped on her phonecall with her husband- he found out that the psychological tips his delusion gave him were the truth_

_His world crashed on him that day_

* * *

He didn't want a repeat of the past. She was trying to protect the world she knew as he was. So he should act on the mutually understood belief

When he got to the room, his mirror resumed from where it was and he could hear sounds of drowning which reminded him of his little incident. He gritted his teeth and ignored his beating heart and went on more important issues

He took a warm bath and dried himself, intent on keeping his promise with Natsu

He also took a towel from a cupboard, his eyebrows furrowed upwords in worry that Natsu might get sick. He took a backpack and muttered an excuse to his mom which she hummed happily back to him and he left

It was strange it was him this time searching for Natsu, instead of the other way around. But the cat did stupid things because of him and it wasn't the first time he had to do these things

After wandering around Namimori, he spot Hibari sitting on a tree. At that instant, their eyes met and he stared for a while before moving ahead, giving a small bow for a greeting (No one acts rude with Hibari Kyoya)

He moved around town searching for orange, any indication of the cat. He then finally reached the last place he'd rather be, the street where he was being drowned

And found his dreaded suspicions right

His 'friends' looked up at him and smiled a wide smile which sent shivers down his spine

"Oh Dame-Tsuna? We wanted to go find you just now. Nice timing" and moved slightly aside to show one of them holding down the very orange cat he'd been searching for the whole time. It was as drenched as he last saw it... but this time it was for another reason

There were puddles lying around its feet as it hissed

Maybe it hissed at him for showing up in the first place- like it was scolding him for getting himself back into trouble

Or maybe it was hissing at his friends for drown- hurting it or trying to hurt Tsuna... or maybe it was both. Because, Natsu never liked his 'friends' for some reason

But it didn't matter because he did something stupid the very next moment. Seeing how drenched the cat was and how water trailed from the barrel till the puddle near the cat... something in him snapped. He charged at them with a scream

He tried punching, kicking at them and then was punched to the ground and all the air he inhaled out of rage escaped him making him wheeze. He was then punched and kicked from all directions. The brunette curled up into himself, hiding from the pain and finally his hair was pulled, making his split lip open to breathe in air he desperately wanted and was yanked to the side of his cat

Someone might have held him down to his knees and grabbed is arms behind his back arresting his movement, but he wasn't aware- he didn't care. All he knew was he was helpless and powerless... and that Natsu was going to ...

"Ooh Dame-Tsuna has a backbone~"

"Ahahaha, the only thing you wanted to protect was a mangy street cat and you couldn't even do that lololol. What a loser"

"Wait he snarled at me before when we called his mother a slut. Remember that? I mean what father never visits his kid. This loser's definitely an illegitimate"

"Oh yeah! And he didn't do anything else. The cat's got more backbone than he'd ever have. Calling him a scaredy-cat is an insult to Sir mangy cat here. Ahahahahaha"

They kept speaking insults to him as one of them got a huge stone and moved towards the cat and tears flew down Tsuna's eyes as he whispered and begged continuosly to spare its life

They however, found the whole situation very amusing and told him

"I wonder how many hits can we give it before it becomes worthy to be Dame-Tsuna's friend? It must at least have the same level of cowardness"

His sobs and tear ducts refused to listen to him as he scolded himseld to stop adding fuel to the fire... especially when what he was doing was positive feedback to the cycle of bullying

He heard a thud and a loud cry from the cat and he jerked forward, this time making him fall forward and the boy who held him down previously ,sat on top of him

He then heard the stone ram down again and again ,hearing whimpers from the cat

"Ooh it's finally whimpering, just like you Dame-Tsuna. You finally match each other. Good for you" and they continued laughing as they brought the stone downwards. And heart couldn't have beat faster nor could his eyes stop looking at the cat crying out

He couldn't stop himself from apologizing over and over again

But he went deathly silent when the cat stopped too... lying completely unrecognizable across him

And he was left alone, sounds of laughter decreasing in volume with Natsu

* * *

"...You stupid cat

...

I told you nothing good happens from hanging out with me

...

...

...

I _can't call out to anyone again_

...

...

Who am I gonna call Natsu again?

...Why would you even want to hang out with Dame-Tsuna? Look at where it got you! You were so loved by Namimori..."

He sobbed and sobbed holding all the pieces of the cat in his arms

It was almost evening and he felt a presence behind him. It sent him shivers but he was exhausted

" _Herbivore_. Why aren't you home yet?"

It was Hibari, one of the last people he wanted to see

'Oh great. He's going to accuse me of animal abuse'

He was muddy- just as always, but the cat... it didn't deserve it

And as if on queue, he felt a hand on his collar pulling him up slowly making the cat's body pieces fall gently to the ground and then he felt a distinct sense of choking

'If this is what hanging feels like... I'm going to cross it from my notebook'

He was then dragged to who knows where... it was Hibari he was talking about. The prefect was probably going to find a place where he could be taken care of without suspicion. Good bye to his shitty life

He should have known better. His life was always trying to mess with him. He was instead thrown into the Namimori lake from a bridge, which was thinking positively, warmer and cleaner because it was still afternoon turning evening- meaning it was still warm. Namimori had hot afternoons ,and warm evenings and frigid nights and mornings

But the bad part was he didn't know how to swim and Hibari was going back the direction he came from

But his disciplinary committee was infinitesimally kinder than Hibari as they picked him from the lake and told him to go back home

When he got back home, his mom looked disappointed and he realized he was bruised and wet

"Tsu-kun! You should know better than to play so rough! How can you be so careless! And you have school tomorrow! You should be more responsible"

He was wet, which showed his carelessness. It made his bruises look like it wasn't from a fight but rather from something silly and moreover... his upper half wasn't covered in blood because of the dip. It made his encounter with Hibari suspicious and he dropped the idea from his head immediately and focused on his mom's lecture

She berated him continuously and brought his energy level further down and finally told him to march upwards. His room greeted him with the screams of torturers and the gasping of his delusion and this time his mind and body were too exhausted to care. And he wrote in his book something else other than suicide notes for once

He wrote to get a flower- _Zinnia_ -the flower for remembrance of a friend. It was something his negative mind spoke ominously to him- something he'd have to get for the people who'd probably barge into his life if his delusion's prophecy was true. It was a flower which would probably have a major influence in his life _if he doesn't end his first_

It was a race against time and he wanted to win this one

The next morning ,he had acquired the flower from the Namimori flower shop and went to the alley he frankly wanted to forget existed

He looked at the alley, feeling a bit shocked

There was no leaky pipe and the alley was cleaned up and the barrel was removed. In it's place was a small gravestone with a flower pot near it having a lily

He bit his lips to remove any sort of conjecture from forming

And placed the zinnia beside it and carved the name 'Natsu' on it before he double guessed himself

and walked away

His walk to the school was silent and peaceful, something he'd never thought he'd see in his entire life. In fact no one even bothered to say a word or come closer to him, but there were whispers... so many whispers

The group who he called his 'friends' didn't come by- it made him a bit happier... because he didn't want to see them right now

In lunch, he sat under a tree his mind lead him to. There were people outright gasping that time and scuttling away. He looked up to see what the commotion was... and there was Hibari Kyoya sitting up

Normally he would do what any sane person did... running away to safety. But he was exhausted from the events and gave a simple bow (albeit more sincere than any he gave before). And for the first time, he ignored his mom when she gave complaints of his encounter with Hibari

* * *

**Preview:**

He _hated weakness_ and the brunette who had dull eyes and looked frail irritated him to no ends. But he hated the fact that he was curious about the enigma of the boy who did things the weak did while looking so _smugly proud of it!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine
> 
> If there are any corrections, comments ,please feel free to review them .I'll usually reply to them, since my college has leave so I've got time to spend on my hobbies
> 
> The chapter is humongous and it may get boring, please tell me if it does... my curiosity wants to know ToT
> 
> If the story's got confusing bits, please tell me cos sometimes I put too subtle contexts
> 
> Note: This chapter goes through the past till the current timeline
> 
> This chapter's title also goes with an impression Hibari has of Tsuna
> 
> Also, in the most recent timeline in the story, Tsuna's a 7th grade student
> 
> To the people who've stumbled across this from the khr fanfic, and happened to read it there, here's a disclaimer that it was ripped out of there. I've just thought that I would post my works in more sites, that's all

**Chapter 3**

**The art of suicide**

The Hibari family always told their youngest one that no one could hide their true nature. They also incorporated the sense of _Survival of the fittest._ Not to say they were nazis or anything... but they were a powerful and confident bunch, so they didn't want anyone to put them down in any way. It was also the fact that their beliefs and convictions were sometimes too strong to be accepted by the people. They were overwhelming

So the youngest member of the household, Hibari Kyoya was considered intimidating for his peers. But it wasn't like it affected Hibari in the slightest, because he had equal amounts of contempt at the weakness they continuously projected (this was a boy in kindergarten, to clarify)

He cruised through his kindergarten being an exceptional child, needless to say... but it was this period that a child he would know for the rest of his life made an impression on him that no one else did. But this impression wasn't anything good

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a name he became familiar with, because he was infamous around town. He was known to be so useless that nature itself was playing natural selection to get rid of him as quickly as he could. But Sawada was, according to him, a rat

Because he was persistent but had no benefits to offer. He was a nuisance but he came everyday to school regardless of what treatment he was subjected to. If only that, he would have been a bit impressed. But, no. Sawada had to display all his weakness on a neon board. He cried and cried until his mom had to come and soothe him and for once Hibari shared the same sentiment as his classmates. They cringed when they saw how embarrassing the kid was being and his mother had to look apologetic in his place to make the situation more bearable

The kid was the the black sheep of Namimori, he was sure of it

Time passed and he was learning to use the tonfa his parents passed him. He was also being taught the ropes of jurisdiction of Namimori, but the fact was that he wasn't free from the curse of Sawada Tsunayoshi

The child had been a thorn in his side. He was always whining (as in crying) and he was covered in bruises everytime. He first thought that the brunette was being bullied, as was expected in the weak-gets-purged society but that wasn't the case. It seemed that the brunette was getting into fights (albeit that he wasn't the one starting them). It usually started with either him asking if he could join the group, which any sane person would refuse or that a group would come to him to make him their gopher. It the first case, the kid would keep on begging them until they agreed or the kicked him to the ground for the day so that the persistent rat wouldn't get up and pester them more. In the case they agreed, the group would be subjected to the most boring game they'd ever played, since every game was single handedly ruined by the child who found many ways of messing up a game. He would then proceed to wail while he apologized

If it was the latter case, the child would be so eager to complete the task but fail in actually completing it that it would annoy the group

But then the child had to pick another annoying habit. Now instead of crying, he would put up a strong front when he messed up, which would lead the other group into so much irritation that they'd get into a fight which the boy didn't hesitate in giving back, accusing them of for not accepting him when he tried oh so hard

In his first grade, he was given the title of chairman of Namimori elementary by his parents to gain experience. His parents never compelled him in any way, he just wanted responsibility to train and test himself. Because his family was whimsical as they were powerful. Each Hibari followed their passion and interests whole heartedly an he wanted to protect Namimori

That year was somewhat eventfull with half of the year passing with him meeting Sawada Nana every week with her apologizing for her son's deliquency. That part of the year was irritating since it was the boy being the biggest handful, because he triggered disasters and made a lot of people angry because of his actions. It was like a chain reaction being set with anything the boy did! And everyone else were easy to keep in check

But the second half was ...empty. Sawada Tsunayoshi opted to be a complete loner and you could never hear him speak, smile or do anything. He was a waste of resources and remained absymmal in sports and studies. It was irritating. It was as if his mere existence annoyed him. It was baffling at the same time. He could not understand why was he so concerned by the brunette

What shamed him further was that apparently, the people who were his classmates also shared his sentiment. It was humiliating. He didn't enjoy picking on the weak. He knew they would be eliminated on their own or group together to make things better. It was nature in its finest after all

But Sawada remained a lone wolf when he was so weak, he made Hibari's blood boil

A month before he became a 2nd grader, an incident happened which changed the status quo of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Rumors reached him that the boy apparently loved the 'flower at the peak' (Takane no hana) Sasagawa Kyoko and people finally put him into his place desperately trying to remove his existence. It made him a bit pleased and he pushed down the part of him which growled irritatedly

* * *

When he was a 5th grader, the muddled feeling cleared up slightly and he stopped feeling like he rejected parts of himself. It was because his ideals had changed that year

He had gotten a report that a possible criminal offense had occurred and he took up the case, feeling angry as if pride had been broken. He had been learning criminal psychology from his parents and he had been observing the behavior of the people his parents arrested. He spent time profiling the citizens of Namimori at nights... and someone had to break his carefully managed system without a care?! He knew everyone in Namimori by heart for petes sakes!

He marched to the hospital room, seeing Sawada Nana and became shocked. The suspect was one of the people he categorized as harmless. Her background was very normal, her interactions with neighbors were regular and friendly, even pleasant

Sure her husband was hardly around, but that made him think that there were chances she'd put her son into an abusive relation... but she had been funded appropriately to have a stress free life and her husband had regular contact with her. The only thing which could have been irritating in her life would be how her son got constantly beat up and probably his whiny behavior

He asked some questions to her

"Sawada Nana. Had there been any incidences which could make you think that would lead to today's circumstances"

She huffed and turned to him, almost rolling her eyes as if she had stated her points over and over again but no one believed her

"Hibari-kun, I think you must have gotten what I told the officer before. My Tsu-kun doesn't have any social problems. I mean, he stopped getting into fights. That boy finally listened to him"

Which made him blink twice at the inconsistency with what was actually happening

"Tsu-kun is just a bit careless. It was all because he made a habit of eating snacks at the bathroom. He said it was because he didn't have time to study and he had to put in triple the effort if he wanted to catch up with everyone. My, he's getting so mature lately"

It was so strange that he looked into his case file again.

Sawada Tsunayoshi had a low IQ, he knew it since they went to same school and he monitored everyone in Namimori. But it was precisely that fact which made things add up perfectly as well as make it seemed planned. It was puzzling

Because, a person could be dumb enough to think they're saving time by eating when they go to the bathroom and a person could be stupid enough to have bleach into their food because they were clumsy and careless as well... but could they potentially die? No

Because, your body can't digest or keep in that much bleach. Because it would cause his throat rough irritation, the taste would make him puke the contents immediately... but somehow, he had managed to keep in a dangerous quantity of bleach in one go? That would be ... downing an entire bottle in one go. Which was an idea which couldn't be carried out without having the victim accused of suicide

"And Tsu-kun takes the food I prepare with him for that day. It's not like he hoards them and he looked energetic for the last months, so I let him continue the habit... since it seemed like it set him to ease"

The statement made it seem that he couldn't take small quantities per day, unless the boy wanted to die by purging. It would have forced Sawada Nana to stop him from continuing an unhealthy habit. If he managed to keep it down, he'd be sick and his diet would be strictly managed by his mother and would have forced him to stop this bathroom eating habit

This would all be true if the boy really planned on committing suicide... which would have been expected of him, seeing that he had no friends and his environment constantly pushed him down. It would seem as if it was the people of Namimori forced him to give up his own life...

And did they have any right to determine who would be fit to continue the species? Because every being had its own strength. The very herbivores he didn't like, had their own survival mechanisms and were good in their own ways... and he could accept that

It was as if he had swallowed a bitter pill. Filing down his mothers statements, he opened the door, expecting a devastated boy with a bitter truth his mother had to accept. He also had to file a suicide watch, as much as he didn't want to... he didn't want an imperfection to his beautiful town

But when he opened the door, there was a Sawada Tsunayoshi who looked straight in his eye and looked over him, having the gall to be pissed that he had found something he shouldn't have learned

He then... schooled his expression to that of complete surprise. It was such a sudden change it made him feel like the whole situation was rigged making him very uncomfortable. He had a glimpse at the officer to his side who looked outwardly confused, mimicking his true feelings

He then saw Sawada Nana filling him on the details and Sawada Tsuna changing his expression from surprised to sheepish as perfect moments that it made him feel sick. The truth was clear, there was no way a person could ingest bleach enough to kill them accidentally

But Sawada Nana seemed too eager to accept this reality and Sawada Tsunayoshi was willing to let her reality remain as rose colored as possible

He turned to the officer who also fell into the act, looking exasperated (the incompetent) and said

"I want to investigate this case. Make it so that the family go for a trip"

There was a sinking feeling in his heart that his town wasn't as perfect as he thought it was

* * *

_A week later_

He entered the house with a neutral expression. He wanted to know the truth about the Sawadas, the household of the black sheep of Namimori

His family had every way of going to an abusive relation. His father was hardly around and his mother was constantly faced with the problems her son attracted- no friends, bullied everyday, bad grades, clumsy, stupid, had no athletic sense and was careless

He climbed up to the bathroom, looking at the house plans, aiming to go to the heart of the problems- was it a suicide?

He opened the door and took a look around. He had previously sent his agents to mark down, areas of blood and finger prints

He opened his updated case file with the identification of whose fingerprints were found most

His team brought the used cans, which thrown into garbage apparently the same day as the family had been discharged from the hospital... it was as if they were scared of something

The cans, packets had the boy's finger prints and the spoons and rim of some of the packets had the saliva of the brunette. Faint fingerprints of the boy were present at the bleach container, but the more apparent ones were from his mother... which made sense if the boy usually did some chores for her occasionally and she used it for cleaning purposes

There was no blood, no vomit stains in the bathroom, but some of the snacks were spilled on the ground, judging by the chemical composition. His forensics team were really amazing

The scent of bleach could also be concealed by... curiously... a room freshner which was suffocating in its vanilla scent

His partner, Kusakabe Tetsuya, also picked up info about various scent refreshers being bought throughout the month by a small boy with spiky auburn hair, judging by the video footage and shop registers in Namimori

It was strange... but could also be put down as a quirck. It wasn't strong evidence. It didn't help that Sawada Nana was forgetful... in fact it was if she was avoiding the incident instinctively

But he couldn't ask any questions to Sawada Tsunayoshi, a boy he had convinced himself off, as a dimwit. It wasn't because he felt guilty, but it felt that he would fall into a trap if he'd ask him. It was the feeling of a predator behind the calculating gaze, he felt when he turned away from the boy

And he felt that Sawada Tsunayoshi knew this too, as he would often have an irritated expression when he'd look at the prefect

When he opened Sawada's room, a voice sounding like that of the boy made its was to his ears and he was startled. His eyes searched through the room and something moved in the mirror and made his mind race faster. He marched to the mirror, but seeing nothing, berated his mind for being so paranoid. But he filed away his experience for future contemplation. If there was one thing he learnt from being a Hibari, it was to never doubt himself

His eyes wandered to beneath the boys bed to see a diary like notebook and a cosmetics box

The items confused him and his pride wouldn't let him pry

He looked around the room to see toys and comics, typical of an average boy... but they were dusty and hardly used. Just what did the boy do? He was hardly in the streets, especially since he was the town's favorite target. His mother seemed to have idealized opinions of him, signifying that she didn't talk to him a lot.

The boy was an enigma, and he had the distinct feeling he was being watched... so he left the room, thinking of the consequences of being observed, even though he felt ridiculous and paranoid

_Later on, a week later_

He looked at Sawada Tsunayoshi who glared at him for a second before changing his expression to that of a neutral one and bowed to him slightly before turning away. His body language told him to keep away, but the prefect felt even more curious than everything

There were strange things happening in Namimori, well fairly strange things

The police force he had gotten acquainted with, were slowly trying to persuade him to drop the case. They told him that he was being obsessive, he could have agreed with it... but then they had to say that the boy was just so clumsy he always seemed to be at death's door. They said his stupid actions were just begging for death's scythe and then proceeded to laugh

It made him so tense, he ended up intimidating them into silence

He felt lost for the first time in his life, not knowing if he had to just drop the case as everyone in Namimori did, claiming that the boy was just Dame-Tsuna or that he pursued this for a feeling of unease?

He hated the feeling of weakness and the next day when he saw Sawada Tsunayoshi, that upward twist in his lips irritated him to huge extents. That herbivore was attempting`the most stupid acts that weaklings do for a relief and he had the gall to look so smug about it!

That night, his parents had sat across him and he was checking over the details he wanted Kusakabe to check into- the cosmetics shop clientèle for the year, people lurking around the alleys for the month, the airport security footage for the last five years

His fathers intense stare shifted his attention, and he looked straight at him

"Kyoya, I've heard that you've been investigating Sawada Tsunayoshi for the past 4 months. Drop the investigation."

"If you'd read the case file, you'd realize that-"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi was attempting suicide. What about it? It wasn't anything strange, it was just one woman in denial"

"...You checked up on my case file"

"The cosmetics Sawada bought, were for concealing his wounds. He didn't want to worry his parent. It was common deception"

"The cosmetics shop hasn't got a customer with his description"

"Yamamoto Takeshi assissted him"

"...What?!"

Yamamoto Takeshi was a jock in his school. It was so unlikely that he had contact, let alone any long lasting relation with the most infamous loser in Namimori

"Kurokawa Hana, a friend of Takeshi attested to it. She was playing proxy, getting all the cosmetics. She had told me that he needed it because his manager wanted it, and included it for the list of team supplies"

"That's mixing personal with professional needs"

'And it's the smallest issue out of all these'

"He said it didn't seem to matter"

"What's his relation to the victim? Why was he assisting him in his suicide?"

'Why did the case get even more complicated'

"He claimed they were classmates, so he wanted to help him out"

"Help? For what?"

"Apparently... it was a gift for his mother's birthday"

"When did they buy it?"

"...March 15th"

'He's lying. He was lying both times. He's making this part on the fly' he had to struggle to keep his expression neutral. Why was he trying to add false statements to the case? Why was he saying that the cosmetic was bought 2 weeks before Sawada Nana's birthday? He was going against his doctrine, for pity's sakes!

His expression remained neutral even though he saw his son's expressions twitch uneasily. It was an expression of weakness and he wasn't being called out for it!

His father's testimony was getting to be useless. But there was an other angle he could approach

"Why are you investigating this case too? You've investigated this deeper than I have and I've been trying to get to the bottom of this case in the quickest method using the most legal means"

he ignored the part of his mind that claimed that checking a house without warrant wasn't legal

Then he saw the same small guilt appear on his father's face. His mother interrupted the conversation sharply

"Enough with the lies" and she looked straight into his eyes and spoke

"The evidence in the case has been tampered with"

" _What?_ "

"It was because you wanted to know the plane details, just like your father did"

Before he could reply, his father glared at her

"I wanted to know the motive, if the case was that of child abuse"

Hibari interrupted his father looking incredulous

"It was of suicide"

His father looked back at him, mimicking his expression

"The boy had a record for not being able to be that cunning. It would affect his analytical skills. If he had that sort of intellect, don't you think it would affect his intellectual skills? I've questioned his teachers, he has no signs of anything remotely intelligent"

"His academics have no relation to his actual intellect"

"What nonsense, Kyoya. Your mind is completely muddled with emotion. What does this case have against you that is making you so irrational?!"

"That boy has played this so well that he's got the entirety of Namimori under a haze. The people think it's natural to have him die in a ditch because he's so incompetent. That thinking is strange"

"That's why I think Sawada Nana was planning homicide"

"She's unassuming"

"That's what I said for Sawada Tsunayoshi"

His mother coughed to interrupt the heated discussion

"What if it really was an accident?"

"You're playing right into Sawada Nana/Tsunayoshi's hand" they both growled at her at the same time

She looked at them one last time and moved to her room and brought back a file

"Close the investigation if you're planning on following the line that Sawada Nana should be held for attempted murder"

His father glowered at her and the prefect looked at him in confusion

"Your father found an interesting point in the case, and was following that line of reasoning instead"

"Enough. I'll drop the case. He doesn't need to hear of this" looking at his son's irritation for being shunned from information, he clarified

"Kyoya, you're obsessed with the case. I'll take it up in your line of reasoning if you insist. Namimori has other issues to be addressed" when his son looked like he was going to object

"My decision is final. Unless you've got a good reason why you want to take up the case instead, I'm not handing command"

Hibari Kyoya couldn't help but huff a breath full of irritation, his patrol being more violent than ever before, with people literally running for their life when they had a glimpse of him

Though his irritation increased tenfold when he saw Sawada Tsunayoshi and his sigh of relief when he looked at him

* * *

In the afternoon at the disciplinary committee room, Kusakabe Tetsuya stretched out an arm having the information. He looked at it and remembered the requests he was checking up last night. He waved his hand in dismissal

"The case is dropped"

and then the boy he considered, a fairly decent assistant spoke in tangents

"Kyo-san, do you remember how we met?"

He gave a warning glare at his assistant, unwilling to get into any sort of reminiscing bullshit

"I was recommended to see you. I was shocked at the suggestion, since I was a top delinquent at that time. It irritated me and I threatened him, but he merely _giggled_ and told me to try it out for a week. We were in frequent clashes and I couldn't believe that he could even suggest that, seeing that he was in most of the scenes when it occurred... though we had different circumstances. I beat him up that day, my temper getting the better of me

But the idea stuck, and the next day I went to try it out, to pass time. He hollered out to me from a tree, to wear the school gakuran and wear a pompadour

I was amused and bored, so I entertained the idea

But what was initially for amusement, ended up being something which makes my pride and soul"

His prattling irritated him, and he was preparing to leave the room, giving one last chance to the assistant seeing that he had been tolerable all this while

But the next time, he wanted to be a chatterbox, he'd bite him to death. He'd keep to that promise

"Kyo-san... The one who told me to do that was Sawada Tsunayoshi"

The prefect stopped and turned around, confused at the revelation

"I had doubts regarding his character at that time. I dropped it, but I just wanted to let you know that it didn't feel like you were obsessed with his case. Something is strange with that boy. After a month from the interview, he looked at me with a look like he had predicted it right. It made me shudder"

Hibari looked at his assistant carefully and then looked at the window, assessing the situation

"I'm dropping the case"

But then he looked at Tetsuya and said

"Fix a meeting with Yamamoto Takeshi. I have something to clarify"

"Kyo-san!-"

"I want the meeting place and the time today, given to me immediately"

"Yes!"

* * *

_In the evening, at Namimori park_

Yamamoto Takeshi sat at a swing with a dark expression, but it lightened up to a cheerful facade when he saw Hibari Kyoya. Unfortunately for him, the prefect had seen both expressions, cementing his findings

"Yo! Hibari-san. I never thought I'd be singled down by you in my life, ahahaha. Is it about that day when I snuck in the Takesushi snacks to school? Sorry, sorry. The guys there wanted a sample of the types of food Pops made. We could never have enough customers, ahahaha

You should try them too, Hibari

I think you'd love them"

He said, flashing a blinding glare at him

The prefect realized he was offered bait that would side track him (school regulations against advertising in school grounds). The boy he thought was a simpleton, seemed a bit more manipulative

"You're talking too much. What are you hiding?"

"Sorry Hibari-san, The guys and I talk our mouths away. Baseball's way too interesting

The ball would go whizz and you'd have to make the bat go ka-krack against it and when it flies it feels so good!"

He decided that he had to go for a direct attack if he wanted any information from him, even more so, now that the topic of baseball was being brought up

"I heard that you were using club funds for personal needs. Particularly for getting your hands on cosmetics. Why would you do that when your manager could have easily bought it?"

"I get that we were wrong for using club funds for personal needs. We wanted to show our appreciation for our manager. She's really dedicated to the club. She even has split nails from fly balls to our infielders. Oh right, in fielders are-"

"She doesn't have any use of makeup. I've checked up on her. She's the epitome of a sports lover, from checking her behavior and records. She's hardly seen with makeup. Why would she need it all of a sudden?"

"Hibari-san, a girl needs a makeup to look prettier. It's like the dew drops on a flower- an accent to further beautify things, like an angle at which your features are best portrayed-"

This wasn't getting anywhere, he had to get to the heart of the matters

"The makeup kit with the same serial number was found in Sawada Tsunayoshi's room. He was recently in an incident where he ingested a large amount of bleach through some means and was found hospitalized"

There! The jock could either go into the details when he would question him on how he got this information, and he could use this as advantage to wring information from him

Or he could be genuinely shocked and slip the needed details so he could piece together the puzzle

"That was the makeup which we wanted to give our manager? Well yeah, since it was to be a present. She looks really cute when she tries so hard. But we spend all our time in the field, so we didn't know what to give her. But thankfully, our captain's got a girlfriend-"

He wanted to bite that jock to death. How did he make the wrong connection from that topic to this? He was too idiotic and his patience was running thin. But he had to keep his temper in check. He couldn't spend his time in this case for that long of time. His parents were right, Namimori had other issues

"Did you know Sawada Tsunyoshi attempted suicide?"

The jock looked at him with an unreadable glance for a moment and then said

"What?! When did this happen?"

"His mother thought that drinking enough bleach to be hospitalized was an accident"

"Are you consulting me on a case, Hibari? I don't really get the logic in cases, it's too complicated"

"His bathroom habits started this year, his hospitalization took place this year, his interest of buying different room-fresher fragrances started this year. His cosmetics case was bought this year, the forensics have proof. The years before this, his mother was using cosmetics which seemed to dwindle rapidly every time she checked and this is her testimony. She stopped for some reason this year. One bottle of bleach was swallowed, it was the amount which was pumped out and it matches the medical report

His stomach was bloated with ingesting too much and his mother attests against him for binge eating habits. She attests that he had a stress free life full of friends. And we both know the truth is different-"

"Tsuna's my friend!" the baseball jock screamed and then put his hands over his mouth, realizing his mistake

"Yamamoto, give me the truth"

The jock glared at him. A herbivore related to Sawada gave him a glare, adding to his collection of a grand total of 2 people who glared at him in his life. Strange things happened when he checked up on the brunette

"Hibari, I refuse to sell him out"

He threw a guess into the conversation, hoping it'll give light to the investigation

"Because he helped you out in the darkest hour of your life? When no one else did?"

The jock's eyes widened and his body shrunk into itself defensively

"Who did you hear it from?!"

"I have my sources. I've been investigating the case for a long time after all"

He thought a bit, and decided to put another guess. No risks no gain after all

"Who knows, it might have been Sawada who gave me a tidbit"

Then the jock laughed and his posture relaxed, making the prefect tense up at the aspect that the gamble failed

"Tsuna wouldn't do that. It'd hurt his secret as well. And he doesn't want anyone in the world to know what he's doing"

Hibari's eyes widened and more pieces fit together in the case, in fact the puzzle was almost completed

"You attempted suicide?"

Then Yamamoto started to sweat, his arms folded and his hands grasped at his arm as he feigned a tough look, eyes narrowing in anger

"This whole thing was a bluff, right?"

Hibari looked unaffected at the behavior, he didn't care if his act got found out, since he got the vital information he was looking for... but it didn't change the bitter aftertaste. But the truth was worth it

The other gripped his hair in frustration

"I'm such an idiot! I gave both our secrets away"

"To be fair, Sawada's case was a bit transparent", the withering look Yamamoto gave him did NOT get on his nerves

"Hibari... don't look down on my information circle. It helps to be an ace of the baseball group sometimes. You're not on the investigation anymore, right?"

He looked at the jock baffled

"I wouldn't have even come if you were on it"

"I would have bitten you to death"

"Yeah, and I'd let you"

* * *

It was a confusing turn of events

"Then why?"

"Tsuna does interesting things. So I figured you must be the same as me"

He couldn't deny it. Sawada Tsunayoshi turned into an enigma from when he became an elementary grade student. He just couldn't pin him under a category

"That case you were on was the perfect case to check into him, wasn't it"

He looked at Yamamoto suspiciously

"Like you were saying, I was a part of his plan, so of course, I was careful. Tsuna doesn't really pay attention to his surroundings or how time passed. My dad told me to ignore the preparation time Tsuna took, look at where that landed me Ahahaha" his laugh was dry and humorless. It also made him add his dad to the list of people who required further background check

"Well at least your obsession with details made you drop out of the case instead. So everything did turn out fine" the boy had the gall to look patronizing at him

"...Why were you helping him?"

Yamamoto looked disdainful

"He has an irritating hobby"

It was a statement which made him flabbergasted. His off guard look made the jock laugh

"You mean... the boy likes to commit suicide as a hobby?"

Then he looked somber

"You know a part of the truth, I might as well tell you the whole truth. I got my arm injured before summer vacation. We had to prepare for the koshien and we had a summer camp. I... couldn't tell my team mates that some people from another school ganged up on me "

He filed the information for further investigation

"Gosh, you're such a workaholic

Well getting back to topic, I told my team mates I wasn't going to the camp, so they... assumed it was because I didn't need to practice to... win...

Anyway, I was in a ... pretty bad place

I had supplementary too... I couldn't concentrate with... _everything_ and the constant shouts from the teachers didn't help me

I was ... _kind of_... depressed...

I climbed to the school roof one day and things felt very vague to me. It was just my mind muddling up"

* * *

_The terrace was wide and the skies were clear, but his arm stung and the doctor's words rung loud_

" _Your arm might not work to it's full capacity. It's a fracture, it means that with enough exertion, you could be back to a fracture or a dislocation in a better case_

_You might also experience mental trauma with an image of a bat"_

_It was true, he couldn't look at the bat without remembering the bat with people surrounding him and taunting him with the same lines his team mates told him when he told he couldn't come that summer_

_He climbed up the fence without knowing and the wind blew across him, making his balance unsteady. His heart beat wildly, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He just looked at the ground and wanted to see a black dream. He wanted everything to end_

_He was just so tired_

_So... so... tired_

_He had experienced life to whatever fullest he did. They won the koshien before, and even if he did recover, he did not care for the surprises life had to offer him_

_It was a routine already. It was mighty egoistic for him to say such things, but the fact was... he was tired_

_Just then, the door opened and the person he last expected to come appeared: It was Dame-Tsuna_

_He looked surprised and then came closer_

_The baseball lover laughed in contempt_

" _Dame-Tsuna is feeling pity for the ace of the baseball team? Do you like the fact that I've fallen lower than you've did?"_

_The boy didn't say a thing and climbed over the fence with ease... like he's done this before. He stretched out his hand_

" _What? You've been here before? Well of course you would. You couldn't handle how useless you were, huh? Now when someone's in the same scenario... you wanna play the HERO huh?_

_I'm going to jump"_

_Then the boy looked straight at his eye, blazing gold oddly... and spoke in such confidence, he wondered why he didn't show this side of him before_

" _Well duh, I know that's why I'm stretching my hand"_

_Yamamoto looked down, he's gonna talk about my parents and people who're gonna miss me when I die... looks like even the most inept person in his life can be cooler than him_

" _Ok so touch the fence to your right' and I'll put my fingerprints on it to look like I've tried to pull you up but the fence breaks and I slip and fall with you_

_So we accidentally fall to our deaths"_

_His eyes widened and his voice squeaked_

" _What?"_

" _We've got a survival chance of 2%, which is pretty low, especially if we fall with our head first. But you probably need a way to explain to your parents if you survive. It was kinda hard when I tried it before. By the way, Hibari's the toughest nut to crack. He's still on to me"_

" _You've tried suicide before?"_

" _Yeah, drank bleach. It's been a secret so far. Namimori thinks it's the job of a clueless ,careless kid... Just like I wanted to"_

" _...Why are you telling me these stuff if it's a secret?"_

" _Hmm? You're going to die. I'm going to die. The only ones who know the truth would be the ones who died from this building jump. If we survive, we could claim temporary amnesia_

_We're both good actors anyway"_

" _Actors...?"_

" _Well, you deflect answers to a direction you want consciously by using a part of their previous answer and using a completely different sentence or topic to change the direction of the conversation. People usually attribute that to a person being clueless, but it's a very clever tactic"_

_It was the first time someone caught him that way, but he didn't want it to be in a situation like this_

" _Hibari's case is going to be dropped if this one's a success, but my mom wouldn't take part in it actively and your dad won't testify against this, thinking I tried to stop you. Besides he'd be more worked up over being the only one left in his family"_

_His eyes teared up as he heard his classmate speak_

" _What? Oh, don't worry about the pain, it would be excruciating for a tenth of a second. It's not much if you land on your head. But if you want, I grabbed painkillers from the nurse's office"_

" _...How...?"_

" _It's easy if you were the bully victim"_

" _...Could it be... this bullying stuff...was because you triggered it?"_

" _I was an easy target. I had a crush on the most popular girl in school. People would hate to see even a small success rate happen. Then, my questions and interruptions in class indicating my struggle to keep up, would get people irritated. And me fumbling and stuttering would irritate people with already tension filled lives_

_If they get bored, I give the perfect reaction to fuel their behavior"_

" _Why?"_

" _Because, it gives me detailed analysis of the weak places in my body" He showed a book, which noted the number of punches, kicks, muscle strength to bruise locations in his body and the frequency some part was targeted with each type of conversation_

_The jock looked dumbstruck_

" _Ok, leaving that aside... Let's get the plan rolling"_

_The brunette looked so nonchalant that by panic, the jock pulled at his sleeve, making it tear easily_

" _Hey, my clothes tear easily. It has only one cross threading done over it anyway"_

" _They aren't the school's?"_

" _What you're planning on telling Hibari for improper modification of clothes. I don't have the money to get new clothes and I can't afford to go naked to school"_

" _Doesn't your parent-"_

" _You and I both don't want our parents to get into guilt tripping"_

_His eyes widened as he realized what he was actually planning to do... what he was getting into_

_His eyes then darted in full panic towards the other boy who had the same intentions as he did_

" _Do you have any idea what you're going to do?! Your parents are going to be so upset you died! Won't you miss them?! Are you going to leave them behind?!"_

_The boy looked annoyingly apathetic_

" _Yamamoto, you're forgetting that this isn't my first attempt"_

" _Oh right, the bleach" he remembered answering in a small voice_

" _Pfft, you got it. That was the most successful one"_

_'most successful one. Oh dear lord' he felt dizzy_

" _I don't want to do this anymore" he said, remembering his dad and how lonely he looked when his mom passed away_

" _Takeshi... mom died, but papa's gonna do his best to be there for you WHENEVER you need it. Papa can't be a mom, but papa's gonna try his very best..._

_So Takeshi... please don't Leave me... please"_

_The brunette looked disheartened and it caught his nerves_

" _...When did you... plan this?" he said as he climbed over the unbroken fence, every word his classmate said ringing in his head_

_He looked serenely at him, sending chills to the bottom of his spine_

" _From the start of the summer vacation, the beginning of the supplementary classes" he then proceeded to f*cking smile and Yamamoto never felt as much of a desire to wipe a gorgeous smile from a person's face_

" _Well it was an idea in the beginning, but it got solidified after a week"_

* * *

Yamamoto looked at Hibari and gave a wistful smile

'We might have completely different personalities, but there's something we both want to keep'

"I tried to jump off, but Tsuna wanted to jump with me"

And looking at the way the prefect tensed, he smiled a bit wider seeing that, they did have the same intentions

"I backed out in the last minute and forced Tsuna over as well"

The prefect relaxed and he let out an easy laugh

"Sure he was pissed, but yeah, we both grumbled our way out of supplementary. Ahahaha"

It was a talk which set his mind to ease, as well as install a new policy in his system. Especially since there were idiots who thought erasing competition, no matter how scarce it was seemed like a good idea. Weaklings, the lot. They deserved to be bitten to death

And this time, he could glare back at the brunette when he shot him looks of disdain, with absolutely no feelings of regret or unease

* * *

Coming back to most recent incident, when he became a 7th grader

He had gone to school, digging a hole at the cleaned up alley, not even caring for the desecration of public property and putting the being in the makeshift grave as an honor for protecting a Namimori student, and leaving a yellow rose as proof of being the newest member of the disciplinary committee

The man who had kept the barrel outside as a part of the setup for the leaky pipe had been bitten to death for being so weak to seek a temporary solution

And the barrel was burnt for holding a source of contamination and being a passive bystander to crimes (no matter how illogical it sound, because Hibari was law)

And the miscreants were treated just like how miscreants were, with a black permanent record, a permanent appointment to the psychiatrist and broken bones and teeth. They were to participate in recreational activities to actually be worth the resources invested in them

They were also threatened to never group together or approach students for malicious intents and were blacklisted in the surveillance system installed in the town, which now included obscure alleys

And there were more committee members patrolling town

When he saw the brunette approach his tree at the break, his eyes hardened as he thought

'You reap what you've sown' and reproached the part of him that wanted to beat the boy for looking like his soul got crushed

He glanced at Yamamoto who was looking at the brunette from the window and then back at Tsunayoshi

When the boy didn't glare at him for ONCE and sat there, he gave a grunt of approval and relaxed completely at the branch

When he looked at the gravestone engraved 'Natsu', he paused and removed his jacket and placed it over the stone

'Those herbivores better see what they're up against if they touch that jacket. _I'll feed their grinded bones to them_ '

A new activity was added to the roster of the disciplinary committee: Alley cleaning

If the gravestone looked clean from the day onwards, it was because the committee couldn't leave the dusted jacket of Hibari over a dirty place. It was there for no other reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview:
> 
> The torture had changed from drowning to peeling nails. Even though Tsuna watched it through, he couldn't keep still and his heart was racing and the memory was replaying
> 
> He didn't want any deja- vus this time
> 
> So he'd explore how true the world was with respect to the tales his delusion told him... chances are they aren't (He hoped so. He hoped it wasn't true with all his heart)
> 
> So he checked out the place which couldn't exist


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine
> 
> Warning: This chapter is particularly depressing, maybe even gory and contains profane language
> 
> You have been warned (Oh by the way, tell me if it was too much. I'll pull the level down accordingly as in the ratings would have to be changed. Have to follow the rules after all. I like how it turned out... I'm not sure if the ending was a bit too brief but I'm nervous because the chapter's a bit intense and I'm going 'Evil brain! How darn evil can you get', but it was marked horror for a reason)
> 
> Note: If you didn't realize, the story chops the timeline into bits and elaborates on them randomly. It's to add to the seriousness after clearing up bits and issues
> 
> There are some confusing behavior being portrayed in this chapter, so tell me if you want me to elaborate on them
> 
> Also, I'm kinda new here... so I just saw that there was a chapter preface. Am I supposed to put these beginning notes there. How do you guys do things round here?

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**The Blacklist company called Life**

Delusions are a safe haven for people who feel devastated. This applied to Sawada Tsunayoshi, even though he would claim that he did not like what his delusion has been getting into these days. But it wasn't too bad since the torture had been shifted from drowning to something a bit more sinister. Maybe the other's tormentors got bored... or realized this wasn't going to work anymore

Well, he thought it was going to progress into something more sinister because he felt anxious that the other was also left alone... just like how he was these past few days

For a child who had been bullied his whole life, not getting bullied was more terrifying than getting bullied. Because, it took away his sense of normalcy. And besides, if his normal world consisted of being tormented everyday, a little manipulation to keep things the way they were, yet get something out of it was fairplay. Because, you make do with what you have

Tsuna was a sensitive kid. He had cried when he got rejected when he had tried any way he could think of, to be accepted by someone. He got angry when he felt the injustice he got treated to, just because he couldn't do the things people considered 'normal'. But then, he later realized that all his efforts were being kicked into dust and decided to keep what little he had dear to him. He tried to feel happy with what was given to him, albeit bruises, injuries and a dead self esteem but then... he wasn't allowed to keep even that with him. He lost one of his treasures and he felt lost.

Natsu was out of his life and he was left isolated from his peers completely for whatsoever reason...

The day after Natsu's grave got the disciplinary committee's coat, Tsuna felt that Natsu wasn't his treasure anymore. It was because the committee members never let anyone near it, let alone touch it. They claimed that Hibari-san would _probably_ bite them to death if they left something in his care to possible ruin by something like sabotage

And they basically accused Tsuna of that. _Yes_ , they were saying that the guy everyone in Namimori bullies would desecrate someone's grave. As if Tsuna would destroy _Natsu's_ grave. As if Tsuna was the one who _broke_ its body into _pieces of meat_ . He was the one forced to hear his bullies laugh out a biology lesson as they held him down

* * *

" _Oh look Dame-Tsuna. There's the intestine. It looks similar to that of a human. What'd you know, our biology lesson did help us out. But I bet you weren't paying attention as usual, So I'll be very kind and tell you."_

_And Tsuna had been pushed forward as the cat was groaning softly and he couldn't stop BEGGING them to stop. His mind had shut down at that point and he was living on pure primal fear_

" _Since it's only a glimpse, you may not be able to see everything, so let's see how similar it is to the actual intestine. Hey, I sounded just like the professor right?"_

_And they hit the stone around the rest of its body and made the organ spill through. Tsuna felt butterflies around his stomach as his body temperature rose so high, he felt uncomfortable staying there. He couldn't stop swallowing as his stomach clenched up as his eyes spilled waterfalls_

_His words were garbled and his mutters with his scrunched up face made his bullies continue the act with glee, for they never before incited this kind of reaction from the boy_

" _It's better if it's more practical right? This would be better hands on!"_

_And they proceeded to drag his limp arms which needed no more force, just like his legs which were paralyzed from shock. His eyes widened when his mind slowly supplied where his arms were going_

" _W-w-w-waait. P-pulise. I-I don wunt tuu" his wobbly voice which refused to speak coherently. It was the only other voice other than the laughter, Natsu had been silenced for good. His knowledge of any language vanished that moment. His heart beat violently and he didn't want to be here, but his limbs wouldn't obey. He sobbed and his nose dripped and his head bowed down_

" _Dame-Tsuna. Speak properly. You've gone to school right? You're our classmate alright, even though it's hard to believe. And lift your head like a man, you loser"_

_And they forcefully lifted his head and pushed his body forward, laughing_

_His arms stretched and his hand splayed across the nearest thing it could to keep him balance, his clumsiness working against him for the first time and he DESPISED it... because it landed right on top of the torn body. And in his shock, his heart felt like it stopped and his hand slipped, forcing him forward, his hand slipping to the left and into its body_

" _What are you panicking so much? Never seen road kill before?"_

_His vision felt like it had black spots as he scrambled back, his mind ringing, with the only thing he could hear, being his heart beat. But the force he had to do it, made something move with his hand and it made him feel like he could barf..._

_His vision tunneled and he felt his breath quicken_

_From that time... he did not understand what happened. It felt as if time stopped and when he realized, he was alone and the something became recognizable... Natsu's..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Heart-_

* * *

His breath choked up again from the memory, making him want to puke his breakfast. His thoughts turned dark

'Well, they weren't wrong in assuming I might desecrate the grave. I've already done that with the body after all' His eyes turned dead, as he walked on to school, his body tensing for the meeting with his 'friends' who always 'welcomed' him at the gates. He couldn't expect more than the small mercy of yesterday's silence

But then... there were whispers. His already tense body couldn't handle it, his thin thread of sanity ready to break any moment. He saw no one at the gate. He walked forward and the wind seemed to want to knock him down and he felt exhausted, trying to muster the energy to walk onwards

He didn't want to feel the currents and he looked around from the corner of his eyes to see if a person could give him an excuse to fall down and catch up to his mental reality. It was as if he was in a ghost town, and the people around him were an apparition. They refused to come near him, like he had a disease. It made him uneasy

He wanted a proof that he existed and he wanted it at that moment, no matter what means he chose. So he tripped and fell down. Now the whispers quietened down and he felt like he had gone deaf. The people around him had then shuffled forward, ignoring that he existed

He wanted to cry his heart out. So he did, trying to heal his sensitive heart for what seemed like the first time since first grade

He reached class with puffy red eyes and a dripping nose. Expecting ridicule, he hung his head and opened the door, seeing the teacher teach the class. He stood there, waiting for the scolding and the triggered laughter which followed it. Instead, the hubbub of the class quietened and the chalk stopped hitting the board for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually five minutes

Then a cough circulated throughout the class and the teacher continued the class like he wasn't at the door waiting for permission

No one looked at him and his throat lost his voice, so he stood there flapping his mouth, hoping for words to come to attract their attention, maybe tell him to get lost or get inside...

The class ended and the teacher moved across him, not even letting their shoulders bump and he felt like he was a cockroach. He moved in to sit in his seat, which had no graffiti, no 'gifts' and no flower in a vase. The irony was... that he felt like he was truly dead that moment, without the flower vase*. His mind was swirling and he couldn't process anything

No one called him out when the class representative told everyone to stand and wish the teacher when she entered the class, his mind was too busy muddled up to care. His lost mind started doing the acts he was used to doing. He raised his hand when the teacher was asking if anyone got a doubt. Her eyes didn't even sweep over him and he felt like a cold bucket was dropped over his shoulder

In lunch, everyone immediately left the classroom and he was left alone. He jerkily got up and took out his lunch box and opened the cover for the first time in his life. He did not know what it tasted like, but he knew one thing. It was meant to be on the ground, if he couldn't manage to close his mouth to chew it even once

The classes after that were absolute hell. His panicked mind made him do really stupid things. He tripped from a chair. Accidentally spill water at his nearest classmate then spill the remaining at his teacher when he stumbled away. Ram the back of his head at the chair then ram his forehead at the desk. He even made his eraser cut into pieces when it hit the fan because of his shaky fingers. But NO ONE said a thing. No eye-roll, no tongue-clicking, no glares. They didn't dare look at him

He stood petrified at the school gate, when classes ended. His feet lead him no destination. He only noticed that he was alone because his mind arbitrarily decided to remind him, his mother would be lonely

He walked back home and his mother called out to him

"Tsu-kun, dinner's ready! Come downstairs and set up the table"

His eyes turned downcast as he robotically set up the table. His mother hummed and sat down across him and took the remote control and started the TV. He...

spent the dinner playing soccer with the peas on the spaghetti. Apparently, she decided to go italian tonight. How unexpected!

She hollered out to him, bringing him back to earth

"Tsu-kun, keep your dishes at the wash basin after your done. Papa's going to call Mama tonight. Isn't that romantic of him?"

He thought he nodded to her, but it wasn't like it mattered since he remembered her turning immediately after telling him that. She even had a little skip in her steps

He felt his heart crushed, even though he thought it was dead the moment he saw Natsu's very own-

His hand reached out for the handrail of the stairs, his body wasn't keen on listening to him at the moment so he needed all the support he could get

His room was silent and no water splashing could be heard. He often heard from forums and sites, that if his life didn't have the people that did those things to him, he'd be happier. But the only thing he had gotten from it, was SILENCE. He was starting to despise the thing

He took the mirror to see if it was triggered to mute hoping to switch it back on. But there was nothing, just his delusion slumped back against the wall, looking just like he did

He waited... and waited... but nothing happened. So he slumped back against the wall against his bed and stared at the mirror until sunrise. He couldn't sleep a wink

School that day was JUST like the previous day, but this time he had slept throughout the class sparing him any pain with black dreams

He walked until the most crowded area in the school, relishing in the sound which blasted near his ears. His class hours were torture and he couldn't tell if his ears were working

Days passed by with him blankly looking ahead at a silent class, taking refuge in a noisy break and spending evenings staring at a blank 'Tsuna'

Until, what he thought was the worst thing in his life turned out to be better than what happened next

Everyone did not turn completely silent when Tsuna showed up and he didn't have to stealthily sneak in at recess to hear people talking. Everyone just... ignored him

They could bump into his shoulders, but show no evidence of actually bumping into him. No turning back, glaring, apologizing, staring or whispering to each other

They could walk straight into him, making him sidestep, but not acknowledge he was there

He could move in and out of classrooms, but not get scolded, reported or even looked at

No one cared if he stepped into or out of lines (he wanted to see if anyone got angry or confused when he stepped out of it)

Namimori didn't have many streets with cars in it, since everyone could walk to their destination in town, because the town was small... so it was not like he could test it out with traffic

By the end of it, he felt like his entire existence was denied and he couldn't stop crying. People could see him and it was like his kindergarten over again

But no one called out on him being so pathetic

His mother's joy in having the week talking to his dad did not help him at all. And this time, his mind couldn't guilt him into feeling bad. Instead, it looked for ANY sign someone knew he was alive

* * *

_The next day_

He went to the Namimori hospital, thinking that if his 'friends' were missing those days, they couldn't have done so without incurring Hibari's wrath. So they just HAD to be there. At this point he was willing to have the devil, if it meant having someone notice him

He didn't know where they were, so he reached for the nearest nurse next to him in a do or die effort. It seemed, like even if people were hell bent on ignoring him, if he tried approaching first they'd avoid him like a plague. So he had to do this before the nurse knew it was him. So he tugged at her backshirt, keeping a tight grip voicing out thoughts with a raspy unused voice

"E-excuse me"

She looked in total fear at him, but he couldn't care less. He was noticed!

He then asked her where his classmates were, which she replied a hasty

"They transferred. Claimed the punishment was too tough" and scurried away, leaving his hand grasping at air

His hope felt extinguished and he slumped back to his home, and sat at the bedroom, eyes turning to the mirror

"So, you're still sticking around" a weak voice called out to him. He bounced closer to it, eyes eager. 'Tsuna' looked tired, but he noted

"I've never seen you look so eager to listen to me"

Someone was talking to him! He didn't care who, someone was talking to him!

'He' looked like 'he'd' been starved. 'He' had been slumped against the wall for all the time 'he'd' seen him. Which was strange, his morbid mind supplied him. It had been a month since Natsu died and 'he' had been locked in a supposed cell with no visible food sources... how had 'he' survived

The other noticed the look of confusion and replied

"In case you paid closer attention, you'd have seen the window across the cell show the same time zone as yours. And if you'd remember, I did mention it before, that this world was a parallel universe to yours"

Then Tsuna pieced things together

"T-This wasn't a recording... W-why did you say that?"

"Because you looked like you wanted to do nothing with this. I wanted someone to be by my side"

He looked down. That was reasonable. He himself just wanted to be noticed right now

"Looks like someone's finally empathizing with the 'delusion'. Hah! When I'm close to dying, you'd acknowledge me" 'he' glared at the boy

"Waiy're yuu upset?" he cleared his throat and moved his jaw around. His lack of talking was making his conversations weird

"It's all over. Byakuran found out the location of the rings before I could destroy them"

"I thought that a Byakuran was beaten by a Tsuna and their overlord versions got destroyed"

"Well, this Byakuran was the youngest. Ever thought of that possibility? That they were too young to implement the world takeover plan but could collect all the information they need? So they weren't an overlord but a potential overlord-to-be"

"Oh... In a way that's kind of funny, it's like an rpg game" he rasped out

"...see if it's funny when you're the Mafia Boss"

"I won't be" there! his voice finally stopped cracking, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling now that he could hold a conversation with someone

"It's a parallel world. That just means the journey could be different. But we are all Sawada Tsunayoshis and there is only one destiny for us: To be a mafia boss"

He glared at his delusion

"Tell you what. I'll list somethings you can find in Namimori that are always the same. There's momokyokai, a yakuza organization"

To which the brunette snorted and looked elsewhere. His delusion huffed lightly, irritated

"You're not planning on listening?"

"Give me one way, I can be associated with the mafia. Don't they value ties like the 'yakuza in Namimori'" he teased. Organized crime in Namimori... pfft

"Your dad"

He looked shocked. That idiot?

"He's quite highly ranked on the ladder. Young Lion. CEDEF head. He's also powerful" looking at thr other's skeptic eyes, he said

"How do you think you can keep this huge house? It was inherited? Your parents had a love marriage that too by eloping! Your dad is a construction worker? Be logical. As if manual labor can land you a house. It's not a tiny house too, remember the guest rooms? Inheritance? Your grandparents disowned their children. You can't get away with eloping with good relations. They probably don't even know where your parents are

And the ridiculous photos? Antartica for drilling oil? In sweatshirts? Are you kidding? Become a star? When all he's sent are construction photos? And you know he can't sing or act for his life, right?"

He felt his heart beating loudly and his vision tunneling

"It makes sense he can't visit often when it means that doing so, his family will be the next on a hitman's list

I'll even add a bonus for you. Consider your life hell, when a baby with a yellow pacifier and black curls turns up at your door"

"Reborn..."

"Yes, the guy I mention a lot. You'll be dragged to the mafia, no complaints and then you'll lose everything you hold dear" the other broke into heart wrenching sobs

Hearing his delusion show so much weakness for the first time made him, lose his guard completely and look at 'him' lost

Eventually 'he' calmed down as he spoke brokenly

"Do you know what are the codes for betrayal of the omerta? Vongola's is this" and he looked square into the brunette's eyes

"Toe nails are peeled off with forceps. First the left foot then the right foot. Then the finger nails with the device like the other end of a stapler. There is no anesthetic used

That's for the grunts

For big shots like you, the boss of the family

We skin your skin off, peel by peel"

Tsuna shuddered, remember how _they_ opened Natsu's body to show its-

"We _break_ your toe bones after the initial bleeding

Then We _break_ your finger bones. Then dislocate your joints"

He remembered the pained cried when the cat initially struggled, making the stone hit at the most horrible places. He'd never seen a cat look like that... and never wanted to know

"We then rip their muscles apart and remove the less vital organs and crush them. We do give drugs at this point. So that you don't lose consciousness"

He didn't want to remember the 'biology lesson'. He felt like puking

"But that's just Vongola. Other famiglias, they f*ck the holes they make in you, c*m in your eye-sockets and gunshot holes. I don't know what you'd prefer more. What's wrong cat got your tongue?" Seeing Tsuna shiver at the last sentence, his delusion looked deadly serious at him

"You know, there's a creature which signifies my soul. It's a lion, essentially a cat. I call it Natsu"

He did NOT like where this was going

"I'm betting you've seen the same thing in your life. Take it as a message from the universe that you don't try to resign again"

In his absolute panic, Tsuna threw the mirror against the wall. The mirror did not break, but he felt his sanity snap

The next morning, the people on his path ignored him as usual, making him feel more devastated than usual as his walk to school was more nervous than ever before with his knees shaking in rhythm with his hands clasped together in a prayer

* * *

Yamamoto was anything but blind. Hibari might not realize the effect he had on people, but _he_ sure did. Hibari understood that something was wrong if an incident took place, but _he_ would knew that an incident _would take place._

Hibari was a busy guy, he could reason, so that he didn't have the time to observe things passively... Even though it was necessary to _prevent_ crimes or atrocities

Let it also be known that Namimori was a small town. So everyone knew everyone and news spread like wildfire. So if Hibari goes out of his way to give really harsh punishments to a group enough to make them transfer and mark a grave under his personal protection, clean alleys and add even more surveillance over the town for a boy... Namimori understands that, _that boy is special_ , as in he's one part of the very pride Hibari protects. Right now, the parts contain Namimori and one Sawada Tsunayoshi

So the people in the town have made it a point, not to harm the brunette in any way

Which would be a good thing... except for one thing

Hibari's wrath is that of a _war god's_. There has been many a testimony that can prove that, enough to make the people quake in their boots. So they've become fearful of Tsuna and his ability to summon that wrathful Hibari

But when Yamamoto understands the reason behind something, he doesn't charge in to solve the problem immediately, like Hibari does. He waits and observes to find the best timing, because situations can get frightening or worse if you act rashly

He sees people going from straight up avoiding a person to denying their very existence and he feels sick to his very stomach and not even his dad's prized sushi can keep itself in him. He assumes that the situation has lead up to that point, because of a mixture of people fearing Hibari as well as because of the contempt they have for Tsuna

He wanted to approach Tsuna, but the boy has been so strung up since last month that he was afraid that establishing contact would just lead to a total breakdown, alerting Hibari which would end up feeding the cycle, making the problem worse

Although, he managed to see the boy in tears from the incident, he became afraid to talk to him because the brunette had such heartbreaking cries that he didn't want to go there just to cry with him and solve nothing. It may have been stupid, but he'd rather like a smile in Tsuna's face. He was sure it would be amazing

But then today, he saw the boy teetering with a look of _absolute misery_ and before he could stop himself, he walked to him and said

"Hey, Tsuna. Are you alright? Need any help?"

And the flood dams broke; Tsuna's eyes widened when they looked at him, his lips quivered and he dropped to his needs and cried against his legs

Yamamoto didn't know _what to do_ and he went into a panic asking all sorts of questions. But through it all, an expression began to fit into his face

When he looked at Tsuna, who after crying his heart out, gave him a small sincere smile... he became determined and fixed a conviction

He'll be the one to protect Tsuna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview:
> 
> He wanted a sense of relief, of confidence that he wouldn't be in deep trouble in the long haul. So all there was left, was to prove that his delusion was wrong and his life wasn't terrible
> 
> So he'd start by proving that Momokyokai did not exist
> 
> Extra Notes:
> 
> *Flower vases on an empty desk are placed to honor a person after they died in some way. It's a practice commonly done in Japan, at least that's what anime tells me. It's also a horrible way of bullying someone


	5. You're better off not knowing anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine
> 
> If there are any grammatical errors or weird logic errors, let me know (It's all because I don't proof read things and can't make sound judgments in my own writing). It'll be very much appreciated haha
> 
> If you want to give a comment on the story, please do! It's very encouraging

**Chapter 5**

**You're better off not knowing anything**

If Tsuna knew that if he poked his nose into unnecessary things, he would end up in a cart with another kid... he would savor his last days to its fullest extent... and kickstart another plan which went 'People who care about me? F*ck them. Imma die pronto'

But NO

He just HAD to be the one who's in control of his life

Let's backtrack a bit and consolidate what happened

1\. Namimori decided to have a school trip coinciding with what was usually summer vacation

2\. The Yamamotos had decided to go on a family trip to catch up, on summer vacation

3\. Tsuna didn't want to impose on them and be a prick, regardless of what they told him

4\. Hibari Kyoya was finally given enough power to handle the Hibari affairs- which extended globally. So he had trips to go make connections (basically give more power to a demon lord. Why did anyone think this was a good idea again?)

5\. Tsuna didn't want to go to the school trip if he was going to be ignored. There was no difference whether he went or stayed. But his mother was going to get worried, so he needed an excuse

6\. His brain thought that verifying if nonsense was possible was a good idea... because he did NOT want his life to be controlled by someone else. Clearly, this whole friends thing made him too arrogant for his good

* * *

He originally thought that having Yamamoto for a friend would either bring back the whole 'friend' ordeal or something like Natsu back to his life

But he had been wrong, because it became clear that it was just him being DENSE and overly PARANOID

You see, Tsuna always got into a persecutor-victim relationship because it was one relation which came easy to him, but something he had to manipulate so that he could maintain a sense of normalcy. He was used to thinking 'Poor me' and 'What did I do to deserve this?' that when this relation started changing, he had used what his delusion told him to keep the relation going

Because, with age, people matured and end up feeling like they're above bullying and sometimes get humbled by life

He learned to manipulate his persecutors into wanting power. It was because of two things: life gets harder and you realize that you weren't the center of your universe. It was true, if you lived with people who exerted self confidence strongly

Namimori was a place with extraordinary people, regardless of how small it was. Tsuna understood that. He observed people because  _he was weak_  and he  _needed_  to understand people to avoid them when they got aggressive. So he knew people and their habits as a side affect.

Yamamoto was really good at side tracking people and talking about the most irrelevant things, since they did not stress people and could get them to open up to you and make them like you- because it gave the feeling that you cared.

It also was a big well of information and could give you things to keep in mind- their preferences, ideals, beliefs, fears, weaknesses... you understand the deal, right? But Yamamoto was built on good intentions, so he used the information to make people into sheep... in his case, people who believed in what he believed, like a messiah if you think extremely (and religiously) and like a politician if you think skeptically. The point was- he was charismatic

So he did amazing things regarding Tsuna's case. The little jokes he'd cracked, the nudges and teases made Tsuna seem less like a loser, but more like a very shy kid. He remembered hearing the neighborhood ladies coo when he fell. They still giggled behind his back, but it was less nefarious than it was before

It was a very confusing appearance making him feel like a pink elephant in a room. He simply did not fit there. Yamamoto was going full force into whatever mission he took up and the results were scary. The boy was very active for months after their new friendship, making him more renown and more the resident celebrity of Namimori. He did it by making a name for himself in Kendo, a sport his dad encouraged from when he was a kid and something he now took very seriously

He did not know when the transition came about, but it was a very dizzying concept that he could have been the one to push him that way, drunk on power. It was the very effect that idols had on their believers, their fans that seemed like it could affect him, and very deeply at that

Perceptions were a scary thing

And the only thing which grounded him and lightly neutralized the Yamamoto-effect (dubbed by Tsuna) was the influence of Hibari Kyoya. His relation with the prefect was complicated according to him, and was getting even more complex. He could explain it but it was a strange observation and required shaky logic which pointed at a conjecture which was, sadly the most plausible one

Anyone who really knew Hibari or anyone who could think past the observation that he was a scary person would know this- Hibari wasn't a direct person and had a twisted mind, which was a bit ironic since he sought direct confrontation and preferred simple truths and beliefs. He was a person of logic but acted so irrationally. He was a walking book of contradictions... but then again who isn't?

Anyway, his basic principle and core foundation were very solid and gave him a strong conviction, making him very intimidating. These were things he knew about the other from when they were really small kids. But he didn't ever try thinking it from another perspective, because he had been obsessed with status quo

* * *

Hibari was a silent person, but demanded what he wanted. He got anything and everything he wanted. So, Tsuna's ideals were rearranged as Hibari  _demanded_  it. It was a realization which struck him when he became Yamamoto's friend

It also made him frustrated at being orchestrated to fit a puzzle, a puppet on a string. The only fact he could use to comfort himself was that Yamamoto was also in the same position as he was... albeit a little bit unexpected, but a fitting piece to set everything into place

The cogs in his head turned a little while after he cried his soul onto Yamamoto. The other made it his new routine to stick to him like glue and talk about anything and everything, asking all sorts of questions to keep him into the conversation and thus made him feel relevant by paying extra attention to whatever he said. He had felt like basking in as so much attention that he could compare to how roasted a cocoa bean would feel like when it roasted under the sun (irrelevant note: the reason for the strange analogy was that the author likes chocolate)

It was because he did a lot of strange, disturbing things when he had felt distraught... but no one caught him. If his classmates or teachers could ignore him out of fear, why did the committee keep quiet? He could have sworn with how nervous he looked, Kusakabe, the direct superior under Hibari, could have pulled him aside for drug possession or consumption. And they had met each other a lot during that time

The turning wheels also told him that he had not paid too much attention though, since, apparently they, as in Yamamoto and he, had a closer relationship than he thought they did, for a month or two- since the other could pick up on his thoughts and made a kind of appointment with Kusakabe

It seemed that they went way back to maybe, the time of the supplementary and that he was just too preoccupied with the entire manipulation business to know that he was in fact friends with the lad, when he remembered distinctly thinking that the other was up to no good when he hollered out to him or offered invitations and casual conversation topics

Yamamoto had a impeccable timing to show him a new trick he picked up in Kendo, which he showed with a dummy at the club- holding the sword backwards and spinning it forward to create a kind of shield. He called it 'Shinotsuku... ame?'

And when they were coming back, they saw Kusakabe, seemingly at the end of his rounds... another well timed coincidence...

He called out to him, his nefarious mind unable to stop its curiosity

"Kusakabe-san, if you just have a minute to spare"

The teen always looked so confused when he put on a polite front. Honestly, it was just that one time. Why couldn't people drop it?!

He turned to the brunette and said

"Sure, follow me" and lead them straight to the dc clubroom, as if they had something important to say. Why did they get this VIP treatment anyway...? In a way, since Natsu's death, it was like his life turned itself on its head... sometimes making him feel that it was he who died instead. Was his view on reality distorted?

The teen made tea from the other room (the other clubs had no chance in getting the room for their usage. They were against Hibari after all) and poured the contents of the kettle into the table and sitting in the sofa opposite to theirs

Tsuna feeling nervous from the atmosphere of the room, commented nervously

"I thought Hibari-san would get a japanese style tea room" and chuckled awkwardly

Kusakabe's eyes widened into saucers and before Tsuna could take back his statement, realizing the mistake he made

A tiny yellow bird chirped

"Hibari. Hibari. Japanese tea room" and chirped it over and over again flying towards the window, presumedly to the prefect himself

The yellow bird, coined Hibard by Tsuna (it was an accident he could swear!)

The reason why that bird was reporting his suggestion, goes back to the time when he was being suffocated with silence

_His situation was getting worse when every place his absent-mindedness brought him to a location Hibari napped in. What was worse, was that he could slightly understand that it was his relation with Hibari that was bringing up unrest and this only deepened the misunderstanding that they were on close terms_

_But he had a knack in showing up exactly where Hibari went like some kind of weird mechanism got triggered accidentally and people started associating him being there with Hibari being there. Once, Hibari was awake and staring at him very intensely and he could sympathize with those POOR SOULS. The pressure got to him and he said the very first thing which came to his mind when he saw a yellow bird (which looked like the yellow bird which sometimes showed up with his delusion) on Hibari's finger, a sight relatively common (the prefect had an affinity with small creatures, surprisingly) and said_

" _You know, you could train those birds to gather information stealthily" and HIBARI looked at him with a look that roughly translated_

' _You gave me something I can use to protect my beloved town and made me use my available resources more productively' and smiled at him. It was so different from his bloodthirsty grin, it was a SHARK-EATING grin and he did not know what was better and the prefect jumped from his perch and went to seemingly plot the plan in detail_

_And Tsuna chose to forget the entire incident and remove its very existence and its implications from his mind_

_Unfortunately, every thing he did just had to rub itself in him! Kusakabe came to him in a relatively chip mood and patted him in front of a crowd of people, who looked mildly horrified with presumptions_

" _Thanks Tsuna, you're going to reduce our surveillence time so we can actively prosecute people faster"_

_And then they gave him a look like he was a spawn of Satan and it was a look he so easily recognized, seeing it when they looked at Hibari, or when his delusion looked at his mentor, Reborn_

_He had never thought a day would come when he was considered a Hibari equivalent_

* * *

Kusakabe looked like he would face-palm, but then smiled a stiff smile at him and asked him something else instead

"You said that you wanted to ask me something?"

"Actually, this might be something strange, but did you and Hibari try something with my situation" he asked, thinking that he'd excuse himself the moment the other asked him to elaborate on it

The right hand of Hibari looked apologetically at him and said

"So you picked up on it. I've expected nothing else from you. I just hoped that it would be later... I wasn't finished preparing myself"

He straightened up and looked at them

"When Kyo-san came back to the DC office without his gakuran, I went to the places he patrolled before to check for why on earth would he return without it. The coat was one of his symbols of pride after all" Looking at the other two nod, he continued, getting to the main point

"It seemed that Kyo-san understood the question I wanted to ask him, when I looked at the coat placed on the grave, rather intentionally and he ordered me to clean the alleys, remove the the barrel and do the other things I'm sure you've heard of

I mentioned that the people would realize the fact that Hibari considered you an important friend if we did that immediately"

At that point Tsuna looked in disbelief at the other. Kusakabe smiled wryly

"You can't deny the fact that Kyo-san and you were involved a little too deep, especially with that case. Kyo-san doesn't tell people things regarding relationships. Maybe he considers them too obvious to tell people explicitly. But what you did made the case complicated enough to pique his interest... especially with the way you manipulated other people to do parts of the case, especially with the track record you've set" he looked meaningfully at the brunette who combed his hands through his hair in mild irritation

Yamamoto piped up at that point

"Hey, I willingly participated in that one"

"You can't deny that it was because of his rather spectacular second impression that lead to that"

then Yamamoto looked disapprovingly, but mostly hurt at Tsuna

"I can't deny that. But Tsuna, quit it with that hobby. I'd do anything for you, but helping your friend out with suicide is a really hard pill to swallow" to which the brunette smiled a bit sheepishly, unwilling to give any promises

Yamamoto sighed and redirected the conversation

"So what did Hibari do in the end anyway? How did get to that messy situation if you opposed to that frankly stupid plan"

It was Kusakabe's turn to look sheepish and turned towards Tsuna

"Kyo-san said that,  _that_ was the reason why he was suggesting it. It was a plan that started in his mind when he saw the dead body of that cat

He said it was the first time you looked affected with that cycle you've weaved around yourself. He used to grumble a lot with the previous lots that you've manipulated into being your bullies. He used to mutter about stupid herbivores getting power crazy from looking at how easily you'd become a gopher, paying a lot of attention to them centering your world around them. He hated how you'd show blatant fear and relief with every action they made. They fed their egos and made Namimori unhealthy, he'd claim

But I think Kyo-san was just upset that he couldn't help you

That night he looked like he reached an epiphany and he told me that the DC committee were to not lay a hand on you and give you no warnings. It was shocking. He told them to look the other way and told me to see it through that no one disobeyed. But the guys at the committee knew from where he came from, so I didn't have a lot of trouble at all"

"But why?"

"Because you were in a destructive relationship and you were addicted to that. Kyo-san saw that the only way out was from that small gap of weakness in that cycle you'd created; When your cat died, you'd looked devastated, like you'd never want to experience that again. You were learning positively from pain. And Kyo-san wanted to reinforce that, so he orchestrated that mess

We didn't expect Yamamoto-san to try talk to you, we expected the opposite, seeing that you'd left the same impact on him, just like you've done on us

But now that I've got new information, I see that it would not have worked

Kyo-san is hard on the people he likes and he doesn't allow them to fall back into a bad fate if they look at any kind of sign of hope. So you must forgive him for those bad memories" he looked a bit pleadingly at the brunette making him feel shocked that he had people who wanted to keep a bond with HIM of all people

and he nodded dumbly, feeling overwhelmed at the new information

* * *

Coming back to a few weeks ago

Since he was basically left to his own devices, after lying to his mother that he'd also gone to the school trip. Left to his own devices, as in he was stealthily snooping around Namimori, having applied a lot of gel to strip his hair back so that he wouldn't be recognized in one go (at least), wearing dummy glasses as an extra layer to hide himself

He walked around in a beige white t-shirt and plain gray slacks, so that he basically merged with the colors of most of the buildings in Namimori as he searched around the abandoned or empty buildings in Namimori

If that delusion was right, which would be the surprise of the century seeing how tight, the jurisdiction of Namimori was... then it would open the possibility that Tsuna could indeed be the successor of a Mafia family, because it meant that parallel worlds could be possible and the nature of such worlds were convergent and hinted at a singularity

It was a strong argument of such open ended topics that Tsuna was determined to put a stop to

After days of skulking around, his mind was getting unwinded and he felt like his fears were unfounded

But then his eyes wandered towards a spark near the sides of a simple building. It was from a tiny gold plate with a tag of a supposed store, a bar... his mind supplied, remembering the drunken ramblings of his delusion

But a drinking bar in Namimori? That was strange... alcohol in this squeaky clean town? Maybe the adults needed a drink to get away from the stress of daily life (something Hibari would scoff at)

But Tsuna was too much of a midget to pass off as an adult. So he needed at least the clothes to pass off as a small adult, cursed by his bad luck that his growth spurt did not hit him (He was not predicting his future!)

He could manage it, the clothes made the man after all

There was something else he needed to consider. The license of an adult- a driving license, say

But it wasn't too much of a big deal. He wasn't above using someone else's weakness anyway. He could use the Hibari's famous uniformity against them. They were obsessed with order which was something he could use to make the plan work

You see... the Hibaris loved order so much that they had implemented it such that the license cards were of a specific design, if they were to be used in Namimori. It was obsessive, but it meant that the school id card was a type of license card, if you'd look at it from a different angle. It meant that if Tsuna confidently showed a glimpse of his card hiding the detail mentioning his school, he could pass off as a small adult who was used to having people mistaken him for a child all the time

So he wore a small jacket, he borrowed from his parent's wardrobe after sneaking in from the tree and entered the bar, through its heavy doors ordering for a gin, remembering his dad's conversations when he sat drunk on the sofa and swept his eyes around the place

It was a dark, with the lights from the bar lighting up the place making it look rather cool

There were lamps near the tables where a few customers chatted filling the place with the occasional laughter. It was cozy and quiet with very few people filling up the place

The heavy doors that guarded the place which seemed like a hideout from the outside world made him paranoid in thinking that maybe the Mafia had connections here. The drink which was placed next to him seemed like it was going to spike him and the threat of Hibari persecuting him for consuming alcohol despite being a minor stopped him from even bringing it close to his mouth

He took the drink after paying it in cash, the money coming from paying it from his supposed 'school trip' not wanting a trace of his activities from something like a card (he'd have to get it from his mother. It would make him feel like a thief and he was feeling guilty enough doing this) He thought absentmindedly

'Bars are so damn expensive. But it's not like I can ask the bartender for water, despite it guaranteed to be the cheapest. I don't want another person being influenced by my 'charms' as Yamamoto puts it' He could almost imagine the looks of disdain if he'd ask that. His eyes swept over a certain figure of similar stature and he did something worthy of his moniker

"Lambo?" he blurted out, connecting the figure to the one that showed up with his delusion

Dame-Tsuna indeed

* * *

The boy did not look surprised. He instead made him surprised by yanking him down to the seat adjacent to his with surprising strength despite looking younger than he did. But then again, he was a pushover

The boy who looked like he went to elementary grade and seemed younger to him by 2 years or so, showed him a lazy grin and said

"So you're the guy that was sent to pick me up? They sure make them younger and younger in this industry"

'Speak for yourself!'

What did he mean by industry

"So what are you doing with that drink? It ain't spiked and you seem too straight laced to drink it. I'm not going to drink it. Stranger danger and all"

He'd gotta play along

"Leave it. I wanted to see if you were going to show up. I got intel but I wasn't sure if the information was true" the kid seemed to be into a shady industry if he was here in the first place. Despite seeming casual, he seemed to not trust him. So his reply seemed appropriate

"Ooh, a cautious one. The Bovino famiglia keeps its word. You didn't have to doubt us"

Famiglia? Was he dealing with the mafia...? his body shivered in involuntary fear. He was in dangerous territory. If he didn't have relation with the mafia before, he would have now if he pursued this deeper

The only reason why he associated that word with the underworld was because his dad had a strange fetish for those kind of movies, apparently convinced that it was pure comedy gold

It was also because one time, he was researching on drug overdose and ended up finding terms of drug trade and the yakuza and the mafia being involved. He had dug deep into the issue, eventually scraping the possibility as it was bound to get Hibari's attention if he tried to get it from somewhere other than Namimori and getting them from inside Namimori was plain impossible. There was a Chinese tunic wearing man who wore sunglasses, his face mostly covered and he was suspicious enough to look like he dealt drugs, but Hibari loathed him and if you'd interact with him, the prefect would most likely have an excuse to prey on you

"So let's go. What's first on your agenda? I want a you help me I'll help you relation. Is that a deal?" his curiosity was overtaking his conversations, the knowledge his delusion provided him fueling it.

The Bovino looked at his gin. He trashed it in a nearby plant, wincing internally at the guilt of feeding alcohol to a living being and berating himself for reacting so pathetically

"I need to be sober to start planning. We don't have the time to mess around"

The boy smiled at him

"They sent a good one. You understand that the issue has to be dealt swiftly"

He shuddered again

'I hope it doesn't deal with dead bodies' and for the first time in his life he wished Hibari was around to help him coincidentally

'This might not even have anything with the Mafia and he might get off easily with a misunderstanding that would teach him not to assume things and be so judgemental'

When they reached outside, he noticed that the boy liked to stay at the corners of the road, so he mimicked him and lead him to a corner, he knew was actually open, since the fence showing the dead end was basically broken, when he had rammed against it when his 'friend' pushed him. He had dislocated his shoulder, but now the price for that was an escape route if things got sour

"How about a deal? If you help me out, I'll give full cooperation with what you want"

He knew he was playing with fire. The boy was younger than him, but if he had experience with the underworld and showed up here, he might have a connection to this 'yakuza' at Namimori. If he didn't they could search with some experience. If he was an ordinary citizen, he could just play along and say that he was intimidating him so that the child wouldn't visit shady places like that

_ever again_

* * *

More than that, there was a thrill that he could get shot to be silenced, if his impudence got on the wrong side of this kid, after all... a gunshot was the fastest way to die and had a success rate of 99%

His body would get hidden and most probably, Hibari would find it. His mom would cry at the injustice of society's underworld and live on the good side of law forever. Her useless child would die and he'd have no more troubles and his pain in the ass life would finally be over

It was a win-win situation

The child looked like he expected this and replied

"So? What do you want?"

"Information. Where's the Momokyokai yakuza?"

The boy relaxed slightly and said

"In the end it's for our request? Man, you guys are workaholics. It's like all the gossip regarding the Japanese were true. We wouldn't even judge you for not getting that information. The Hibari's are good at protecting Namimori to a certain extent after all"

He motioned him to come along. Tsuna could have stumbled from the lightheadedness he got by the confirmation that there was Yakuza in NAMIMORI. Unfortunately, he could not afford to show how surprised he was from the reaction- his morbid mind would not allow him to

Tsuna struggled to ask the question on how did they manage to hide from Hibari in the first place. The route the boy traveled lead to less traveled areas in the town

Namimori, although small... had a really complex road system, so it was hard to cover everything. There were gray undeveloped areas which the DC committee never patrolled, because it was pointless, since any noticeable offenses were in other locations and it would make Namimori less safe than it looked like. It was also because these areas were shadowed by the forest that surrounded Namimori. It was easy to get lost in them and the area had a magnetic disturbance that made the compass turn mad and all four sides from a point in the shrouded area looked the same, making it a maze. People weren't allowed there and Hibari made sure people didn't try going there

When the smaller boy traveled through a particularly shady area where people who looked like they hadn't shaved for days glared their bloodshot eyes which looked like they hadn't slept a wink at him, he felt like shrinking. There was a nauseating smell mixed in the air, a small part of it smelled like how his room did when he cut

The rest smelled like urine and sweat. It seemed like the more fortunate of them could live in a cupboard

The Bovino's voice cut his thoughts

"You know, you didn't have to try save your pride. The Italian mafia are pro at hiding things. I mean Iemitsu's son lives here"

His heart stopped beating then, he whispered forcing his sluggish feet onwards to keep up with the boy who seemed to be casually ripping his life apart

* * *

"Sawada Iemitsu" 'My dad?'

The other swiveled and turned around to roll his eyes as if he'd said something dumb and it seemed like everything was going to be all right

"Overly careful idiots. Yeah, Sawada Iemitsu, CEDEF head, the young lion and the most powerful aide to the Vongola famiglia. Happy now?"

And he stopped, he wanted a breath but his lungs were having difficulty taking in anything like it was mimicking his brain. His eyes widened like saucers as the other narrowed his eyes on him

"Hey. What's going on-" and his brain told him only one thing

RUN

And he dashed forward and away from the curly haired kid with a fetish for cow patterned clothes. He didn't know where he was going and what was he going to do from here now that he had messed up bad and let the mafia know that a civilian(?) got important information and good  _lord_ he had his student ID and his mom was going to get into trouble because he was a dumb f*ck

'Dame-Tsuna! Stupid Dame-Tsuna!' his mind cursed as tears formed in his eyes as fear took over and he threw his ID card at a flame nearby keeping a homeless man warm, feeding its flames earning a shout of thank you his direction giving away his location. He cursed under his breadth as he leaped over a fence falling down clumsily but using his palms to force him back on the run, hating the fact that his clumsiness was coming back to bite him on the ass hard...

Images of Yamamoto's smiling face and Hibari's small satisfied smile filled his mind as his panic made him tumble around and smash into all kinds of obstacles. One of those obstacles set a chain reaction which set of a fire which seemed to grow bigger and bigger making him jump and roll onto it, fearing a wild fire that could harm the homeless people, his mind working on instinct. It instantly melted his jacket and an uncomfortable feeling made it's way to his back and he moved away

His face came face to face with the sole remainder of the flame and he panicked, his body jerking away in self preservation

His mind replayed its argument that if someone would catch him, they'd try to extract information by identifying who he was and endanger the people dear to him. So his irrational mind took a flammable piece and fed that fire, its reflection flickering across his pupils

He took a dirty cloth which smelled horrible and rolled it into a ball and stuffed it in his mouth, tearing up from the intense smell and horrible taste. He then forced his trembling fingers right into the flame hoping that it'd burn enough of his skin to remove his finger prints

His body immediately wanted to jerk back and run and his jaw clenched up around the clock and his screams were muffled as he bit strong enough to draw blood. His teeth hurt and stung and saliva pooled and soaked the cloth and he hated the taste and he felt like he was being silenced, his mind rebelling against the lack of freedom

His fingers were itching and it felt like the time his classmate inserted needles in his hand. But he felt like only this time those needles were going in deeper and deeper and everything felt so hot and his body's instant reaction was to pull back immediately. His arms felt painful from forcing it to stay still and his hands were stinging painfully. It was like inserting nails into an open wound, like the pink of a clot wound were removed and it was shove into the red blood and being circled around by a sadistic person

Finally he fell back and he sobbed as he clung on his burning hand as he rolled around in  _agony_ as his mind berated him to get on with it. So he grabbed on to his bag whimpering as his sensitive red skin with protruding peels grabbed onto the leather texture of the strap which made impact on all the extrusions and the underlying muscles which were still spilling blood, soaking the strap. Then as if on fire (oh the irony) he threw it into his bonfire and extinguished it with the only thing his brain supplied, his hands and immediately regretted it. His knee jerk reaction was to kick it to the ground and stamp all over it with his thankfully, sturdy boots which were made out of heat insulators and stopped it. His eyes then proceeded to thank him for the further pain by bawling on him until his face turned red around his eyes

'Great sign to show weak enemy! Easy interrogation target' So he tried another tactic, slap himself hard enough to to show that he was red everywhere, from overexertion. It was a cringe-worthy solution seeing that he had to use those hands of his to do it

So he puffed up and hit his face and his hands hurt than his face did, but he repeated it ignoring how his hands singed and blood rubbed on his face opening up wounds the fire ironically sealed, because it literally melted the remaining skin over it. It felt unbearable with how his hands cracked open like as if he was a purely meat and he thought he couldn't look at beef the same way ever again without envisioning how his hands felt like. It was like it was being sliced open with the juices spilling out and the feelings of layers being penetrated through as the knife cut through it. It felt like there was something solid being hurt when he brought his hands to his face

And he felt nauseous to think that that could have been his bone. Never had he felt so close to Natsu or so close to feeling that he was more likely destined to see nothing at all and remember nothing at all with no heaven or hell waiting for him with him forgetting all that he knows now, only to reunite with world and having no knowledge that he did become a part of an ecosystem

His mind started working then and it supplied him with a memory that the delusion said when he had first argued that no Namimori would have yakuza. 'He' looked irritated at being laughed at for stating the fact and had shown him what the building looked like

And the one he was under was the exact replica of the one he had seen

And it felt like a bucket of cold water was spilled at him and felt his sweat cling at him as the only reminder that it was infact hot fire that had been his company was the stinging feeling on his bloody hands which felt more like he had put hooks through his skin and into his flesh and that he had been pulling it and making his nervous system pull along the hook till his brain and traveling inside his foreskin

His paralyzed body jerked as he heard a source of noise as he saw the Bovino kid coming towards him and his mind still frozen with fear and his heart turning absolutely cold at the fact that this kid, younger than him with sparkling eyes and all his shocking reveals would end up like him dead and murdered brutally

And he remembered the Yakuza had a hobby of cutting the thumbs of betrayers which they would associate with the poor kid, just because Dame-Tsuna was too curious for his own good. It was obvious that the Bovino had a relation with the Yakuza or they wouldn't know the exact directions to their hideout. But the Yakuza wouldn't believe that the representative of the Bovino would get tricked by the dumbest kid in Namimori, and they would know the rumors since their hideout was here. So he screamed out

"Why are you here?! Do you want to get killed?!"

His eyes were wide in panic while he held his hands in an awkward pose like a T-rex

But the smart little boy put two and two together looking at his ragged appearance, the gel holding his hair evaporated in the flame or removed by friction and let his guard down as he moved closer, eyebrows put together in light worry

"We're doomed either way. Take a look around Tsuna-nii"

and he finally took in his surroundings as the environmental noise faded and his hands stinging at him being reduced a minor disturbance as he saw that they were surrounded by men in arms and he sobbed broken hearted

He was so _damn hopeless that he couldn't do anything else but kill people around him because of the sh*t he did_

He was pulled up to face the situation by the hair as someone inspected them closely like some kind of goods, he felt the other kid sitting nonchalantly behind him. They sickened him to no end. Why would I want to be a part of these guys he thought blinking away tears of frustration

The grunt looked at his boss as he said

"Boss. It's Sawada Tsunayoshi. He has that spiky hair and fits the over description"

He didn't understand how did they identify him so easily when he tried  _so hard_  to not give anything away

The kid behind him knew the answer as he whispered to him

"It's because the brass of the groups that have a bond with Vongola have a knowledge of those who are potential candidates of the Vongola. You're one, even if yer dead last there in the list. The Momokyokai have a role and are a trading partner with the Vongola. The Bovino are a source for the newest technology and supply weapons to the mafia, so we're close with them too

But I'm replaceable, so my famiglia wouldn't care"

If I died wouldn't my dad know then? Why would they try something with me?!

And the boy continued as if he was psychic

"Well, you brought your own demise

Who told you to go to a bar. They could just say that a bad adult spiked your drink and murdered you over money. And no one would know otherwise... because you were known in the reports to be a coward and weren't supposed to be curious enough to try to find a truth.

You'd be documented as a kid who felt too strung up by the pressures of bullying and tried to visit a bar after going corrupt and rebellious

Your dad would want to take a detailed investigation, given how famous you've become with the brass with how much Iemitsu gushes on and on about you

But he can't otherwise Vongola would get rid of him. Hibari Kyoya had been planning the trip in detail. With the connections he'd forge, the Hibari clan will finally rise from one of the threats to the Vongola to the main threat to the famiglia. That guy's a genius after all"

The situation was a bit ironic with how Hibari always intended the best for Namimori and Tsuna, but ended potentially ruining the brunette's chances for the truth behind the incident to unravel for justice to be served

Bovino looked sadly at him

"They're wrong, but I can't change the report, 'cos we're going to die"

'How was that kid right?! He was a damn coward! This was all to find a way to reassure him! If he had let life run its course, he'd die in his 30-40s, but he HAD to mess this up SO bad that he got a kid involved. That kid would have a longer life if he hadn't MET him! Why was he such a f*ck up?! Now his mom is going to be so disappointed to have such an idiot for a son'

His shoulders tensed in frustration as tears threatened to spill any moment

The grunt continued his assessment

"The kid next to him is Bovino Lambo. The Bovino famiglia wanted to see if our operations were indeed transparent and we gave proper profits" they sniggered at how ridiculous the idea was, when the situation was obvious

"Not like a brat could change anything. Boss, they're young and the slum's children have been packed away. Should we send them to the red light district? There's no end to perverts there. We could make a pretty penny"

Tsuna could feel his shoulder shivering, but he could also feel the slight shiver from the little boy who acted braver than he  _ever_  did. Feeling guilty from dragging the other into the situation, he grasped the boy's hand and gave it a slight squeeze of reassurance, wincing in pain at the recoil

The other's shaking stopped and he  _hoped_ it wasn't from being creeped out from damaged hands

The boss looked in the other's direction and dismissed the idea easily with another which brought chills to his bones

"He's a boss candidate of Vongola right? If we gave him to Estraneo telling that we recommended him to sponsor their programs then we'd be handsomely rewarded. If they refuse then they'd be used for the experiments. It's an Eco-friendly solution Hahahaha"

So Tsuna was changed from the rags his clothes became wincing in pain when the sleeves passed through his hands and bit his lips until blood dripped to stop howling in pain when they made his wear gloves to hide the wounds

Lambo was also changed and they were both tied into a box to ship them to Italy. Namimori did not check the contents of boxes in ships, just passed them through metal detectors for weapons so it was the best way of human trafficking

* * *

It came back to the beginning of the chapter

Tsuna looked at Lambo in absolute despair with the constant stinging of his hand with blood seeping through the glove making him very uncomfortable

Lambo snorted at his displeasure

"If you weren't prepared for the consequences of burning your fingerprints you shouldn't have done it. Baka-Tsuna-nii"

"Drop it, Bovino-san"

"Then drop the formality. I'm younger than you"

"...Then Lambo. Happy? Then drop the burning hands"

"Your such a softie, Tsuna-nii" the childish smile Lambo gave made him look his age for once and Tsuna looked at the future with despair, wondering what his delusion would tell him

Back at his room

The mirror fell with no apparent force and shattered. It was like an ominous foreboding

* * *

**Preview**

The slums had people who looted, maimed and ate people like him for breakfast... but he'd much rather sleep there than sleep at the guest quarters at the facility which was a living embodiment of a torture chamber

The screams there haunted him


	6. Welcome to the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine  
> Note:
> 
> I didn't like how the last chapter went since it was too illogical. And meh, it was like the story was forcing itself to be horror. So I decided to write it in a way that I like
> 
> Side note:
> 
> This story resonates with my feelings, not that I had any form of abuse but it represents how I feel mostly. So I'd like it if I stay true to my feelings without conforming to anything. But, unfortunately I'm not a very good writer so I might not live up to my expectations or do the story justice, but I can try  
> (In case you were wondering)
> 
> Also the story isn't particularly out to make Tsuna miserable per say. If you noticed, all the chapters until now had a silver lining to any situation. I'm a sucker for those
> 
> Tsuna's 'vacation to italy' would have multiple chapters since he's gonna meet other characters here  
> If you got any questions or feel confused, feel free to comment on em. I'll try clarifying them as much as I can. Constructive criticism is very helpful
> 
> But in general, any opinion is nice  
> Also if you leave comments on the story it'd be very much appreciated.  
> Warning: Obsene words and psychological torture

**CHAPTER 6**

**WELCOME TO THE FAMILY**

As it turned out, being a lab specimen wasn't set out for him because he was as useless here as he was at Namimori. He couldn't handle extreme pain because god-dammit he was a civilian. Also he had a tendency to pass out and generally not respond to tests judging by how rarely he got out of his cage lately. Dame-Tsuna indeed. I mean how can you mess up so badly that the underworld doesn't need you?!

He had bad stamina, so he couldn't keep up with the experiments. He passed out at the first instance of arduous pain. His shriek had brought out emotion (irritation) from the scientists whose job description most probably warned them from crying, begging and screaming nonsense from their 'patients' (good lord! These guys were doctors of Italy?!)

There's a disconnect in the story isn't there? Well, let's get back to what happened

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a young child who was accidentally smuggled to Italy because the Yakuza at Japan thought that he had a connection with the Bovino child, Bovino Lambo. It was a funny story which spelled bad news to the brunette

What happened was that, they were going to be picked up at the site from a representative of the Estraneo famiglia. The lowering of the crates at a shady place took place with no or little commotion, since this kind of human trafficking was common with the mafia.

'Heavens forbid Hibari figuring out this kind of stuff happen at Namimori' Tsuna thought forlornly with his arms tied behind. The brunette was tired with a case of rough jetlag from the long hours of travelling by ship

He looked at Lambo who looked green with sea sickness

'I guess he didn't come to Namimori inside the cargo from a ship' and looked at the child with the awe at the genius of somehow thwarting  _Hibari_ 's system to smuggle himself to the town

He bit his lips in worry as he looked at the man who seemed to be counting the children sitting in a circle around him. He seemed to be inspecting them, like how retailers inspect the quality of their shipped products

"Lambo... I don't think I'm going to like what this guy has in store for us. Do you feel even a little better now?

I know that the rocking of the ship made you feel sick... and we had nothing to eat for 4 days now. Not to mention the smell of the sea made you puke everything you ate at the bar"

He remembered peaking out of the carton from the slit at the top of the box and the feeling of dread of the precariously stacked boxes falling on them, maybe breaking the box and injuring them badly

"Sorry for getting it on your shirt, Tsuna-nii"

"Don't worry about that, Lambo. I'm pretty sure it smells like sea water now"

"Add in dust, then it's true"

* * *

_They had chattered in the silence for the first day, telling the other about themselves. Lambo was cringing at the stories Tsuna told and he got the hint and stopped it. But the child also had cringe-worthy stories (they were in fear and absolute shock and maybe disgust, in his case) which he told the other, not even sparing the details. The child was also oblivious, so he heard about gruesome mafia missions for the span of a tv series marathon_

_The second day was quieter and maybe tense, as Lambo filled in details of the Estraneo famiglia, like how it was an independent famiglia which got it's test subjects from the traitors of other famiglias. The family thrived on human trafficking and was a black market for slaves and human weapons. He didn't want to hear the details though, so he didn't ask questions. Lambo seemed like he didn't want to talk about them either_

" _The Bovino are a regular client of theirs" he spat out_

" _But I hate their guts"_

_They were silent for a long time. Lambo then nudged at Tsuna_

" _Tsuna-nii... I have something to tell you..._

_I wasn't supposed to be at Namimori. I coaxed the information from a friend of mine. He's older than me... and he was supposed to test you"_

" _Test me? But I'm not directly related to the Mafia until my dad does something"_

" _Actually... There has been speculation for a long time that Xanxus, an adopted son of Vongola Nono, is planning on upsurping the throne_

_The higher ups usually shrug it off as over-paranoia... but this time the Varia, the special assassination squad has been acting a bit strangely_

_Vongola Nono said that there have been people around the route of the inheritance rings"_

" _From security cameras?"_

" _Those areas are special. They block any electronic signal. They can't be tampered with... It's like a purely analog area and it's riddled with security around it"_

" _So it's like a sacred treasure... it's known in myths and rumors but no proof of its existence is known"_

" _Yeah"_

" _How does Nono know?"_

" _That sounds funny nonono"_

" _Lambo, focus"_

" _Oh right. Ok_

_It's the Vongola Hyper intuition, a trait which the Vongola boss, no matter how small in trait. The one most famous for it was the Primo_

_Between you and me, Nono's a fanboy of Primo"_

" _Lambo..."_

" _Gosh. You're a killjoy. I've always wanted to try the old wives gossip thing- Ok ok, I'll get on with it. Don't give me that withering look_

_You want to know how it's connecting together right?_

_Well, a lot of information about the inheritance has been circulating. It's hype. Not very obvious but it's more asked than usual._

_Vongola thinks it's the Varia, given how ambitious Xanxus is. The guy doesn't have a shot as a boss, especially because he's like Secondo and Nono's an avid believer and follower of Primo. Not to mention, the guy's adopted and hard to control. Not a popular choice_

_But he's powerful..."_

" _You're saying he can force himself to throne"_

" _Yup, by murdering his sons"_

" _Can't they put protective forces around the candidates"_

" _Tsuna-nii... We're mafia. If we have to baby the boss candidate to make them the boss, they're going to die either way_

_No one can subdue Xanxus with his high pride either. The only option would be to kill him. But he's got loyal followers and Nono wouldn't allow it"_

" _If the candidates become boss, then no one could steal it from them right?"_

" _The Varia are smart, that's why they can get away with the bullshit they pull. So they can assassinate the candidate with no suspiscion other than pure gut feelings_

 _Then Xanxus would be the 11_ _th_ _head. If he can't be Decimo, he can choose the next best alternative_

_Nono can't get anymore kids, so if Xanxus ain't the head... nobody else would be"_

" _It's not like there is only one candidate right, how many can Xanxus kill?"_

" _...There are two of them left right now. There were four initially. We don't know where the two are right now"_

" _What?!"_

" _Yeah... So they want to see if they can mould you into a head. You see, you have the genes of primo. You're a part of the family tree"_

" _You're ridiculous. Primo would be my great-great-great something grandpa. Isn't it farfetched?"_

" _That's why you weren't in the official list. But in the unofficial candidates, you're the only one"_

" _I'm a civilian"_

" _And you're already involved with the mafia" the child said nudging at himself_

" _Who told you all this anyway?!"_

" _The friend of mine. He was hired by an Arcobaleno, one of the seven strongest people in the world and filled in on the details"_

_Tsuna slammed his forehead into his knees, frustrated by the hopelessness of it all. Lambo looked sympathetically at him_

" _Come to think of it... you're seriously smart for your age"_

_The child blushed at the compliment, like he wasn't used to hearing that_

" _It's Ahodera's fault. He spews all sciency nerd stuff. That... and from our famiglia's trade" he ended sourly_

_The next two days were spent in silence, since Tsuna was really hungry and tired, so he couldn't muster the energy to ask questions or think straight. Lambo was seasick and green the whole time. The child puked until there was nothing but his bile_

_Looking at the sickly palor and remembering what his delusions told about Estraneo, he came to a decision. This time, he wasn't going to regret it or double think it_

* * *

They were currently peaking out from the chest with the child leaning to him, feeling too weak to stand on his own

His eyes turned orange with determination and he lifted his elbow high and thrust it at the child's neck. It was a powerful and quick hit that made the child's eyes bulge with shock and he fell inside the cart with a thud

This caught the attention of the representative who walked towards them. When the man came to a close enough proximity, he shrieked loud and startled the other out of a rational mind

The man gruffly shouted

"Shut up. Get into the circle over there with your partner"

"That kid died! Oh my lord! He died in the carton! And it's been really scary!" and he started repeating them over and over again ,closing his body posture by physically shrinking into himself

The man looked irritated and mumbled damn civilian and moved closer to the body. Seeing that the boy flinched when he touched the kid, he ordered irritatedly

"Go join the others"

The brunette scampered to the others hastily and the man inspected the kid with an annoyed scowl, not thinking clearly

Then he heard wails behind him. Huffing an annoyed sigh, thinking that he had a long day ahead of him he dismissed the child as dead since he was pale as a sheet, stunk and was curled in a fetal position. He couldn't check clearly as there was a disturbance behind him

When Tsuna reached the children, he noted that most of them looked scared and were probably silenced into submission. But he had to act fast if he wanted the other to think the kid was dead. So he turned to the kid with the most scared expression and ...kicked him

It set of a chain of crying- and created a huge racket

Now the man was irritated and had a muddled thought process, making it easier to manipulate his thinking

The representative did something unexpected, he took a gun and shot a random kid. The gunshot silenced the whole crowd of people bringing them back in control, which was a bad for Tsuna

Forcing himself out of the stupor

'I have to get a grip! Or else Lambo can't get out of the situation'

He shrieked and fell back. This got the other kids into a panic mode as they too started crying and shouting for mercy

"I dwon't wanna die! I want my momma"

"Waaaah! Papa! Mama ! I want my papa and mama"

"I'm scared!"

The man came towards them, anger clouding his vision as he screamed at them to shut up. Tsuna quipped a scream to force the conversation to a certain direction

"I wanna go home! Where are we going to go?!"

Then the man looked at the area and screamed

"You are going to a new home now! And you'll eat, sleep and breathe on our mercy. The rest of your life is going towards science! We're going to put you into use

Now, if you don't get into the car this instance. You're going to a different place than yer mama and papa! You're goin straight to hell, where all naughty, disobedient kids go"

The kids muttered and sobbed... but they were generally subdued

"Now git into that van!"

And they rushed into the van when the guy hit the head of the nearest child with the gun towards the van. The child fell and winced in pain, making the others focus in on him

Seeing the lack of movement, he aimed at the feet of the child and shot. The child gave an agonizing scream as the other children dashed towards the van's storage compartment

Tsuna came and picked up the child and supported him on his shoulder before scuffling to the back

The man cursed at them as he made his way to the driver's seat and Tsuna gave one last look at the carton as he prayed for the health of the child, hoping that he hadn't extinguished the other's life

The ride to the institution was noisy with wails and Tsuna found himself getting on the edge after being subjugated to the cries for 2 hours straight. Their begging and whining along with desperate thrashing around made him dreadful of the oncoming situation

When they reached, Tsuna was dragged to another entrance separate from the others. They gave looks of jealousy at him, like they thought he was going to be returned. Even though returning defective problems like him was a possibility... it was too optimistic of one

'They must be wondering about my relation with the Bovino' and he darkly thought

'Now Lambo is dead to them and I have no relation to them... so this is not going to end up well for me'

They pulled him along and brought him to a room where people who seemed to act like technicians or operators worked. One of them swiveled out of her chair and moved towards him. She grabbed his chin and pulled it upwards to have a closer look. She glared and shouted in italian, a language his delusion taught him by rambling in the language frequently

"This is a damn civilian! There's no one who looks like that in the Bovino famiglia! How did he get passed with a Bovino!? They're a careful bunch so this shouldn't have happened! Where's the other one?!"

"Dead from sea sickness"

"F*ck! Those b*stards are ruining business by shipping goods in a way they f*ckin break?!"

"Namimori has a strict security system. It's hard to jack someone else in an easier way"

"Sh*t. Anyway, interrogate that f*cker and find which famiglia is he from"

* * *

It was like a bad joke

He was there kneeling on the ground as they brought a water barrel and some people surrounded him as they dunked him into the barrel while shouting the various threats and questions he heard from the mouths of the torturers of his enemies

It was a ditto situation and it was like he was living through someone else feeling too tired and hungry to respond

It was also like a rewind of the mirror and all the days of heaving and deep breathing along with the familiar sensation of choking. There were air bubbles circling him while his ears clogged and his eyes blurred. His nose ran and his eyes burned when they reached the surface while he got a heart burn

His memories lapsed and he was put into the scenarios as his 'bullies' and he just wanted to break his relation with water feeling his fingers tremble involuntarily as his body went to a memory lane with Natsu's death

His knees was numb and his upper body was tense. His fear shut him down from the world... away from the angry screams and questions echoing in his ears

Later when he came into consciousness, he was sitting in an uncomfortable chair with a flimsy table you couldn't grab on for support without the table falling on top of you

The room was dark with a suspended oscillating lamp being the only source of light

He was a drowned rat and the musky smell made him uncomfortable. There was a man sitting across him with a stern look on his face

He moved forward and right into his space of vision and broke through his personal space bubble and said

"They couldn't get a peep from you after drowning you. Do you want to be more cooperative this time?" And he grabbed his shoulder

Tsuna could feel himself sweating, both from having his guard stripped off from the drowning and was tired from jetlag and hunger. He gulped and felt as vulnerable as he was when he was a child. Advices from his delusion flooded his brain, but he couldn't bring himself to implement anything

So he nodded vigorously, willing to do anything to get the man out of his personal bubble. He felt too nervous

The man screamed out

"What's your relation with Bovino?!" and the loudness of his voice echoed through his still water clogged ears, amplifying the sound and made him squirm in his very uncomfortable chair

The grip on his shoulder was bruising

"I met him at the bar in Namimori" he answered truthfully, wanting to escape from here

"Why were you at Namimori?!"

"I live there"

"Namimori is one of the safest places in the world! How could you get there?!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Lambo could get there"

"Don't change the topic. How did you get there?!"

"I live there"

"Tell me the truth"

"I live-" "Tell me the f*ckin truth! "

Tsuna could feel himself tear up at the loud screams directed at him when he felt so vulnerable. There was another hand on his shoulder shaking him so that they could get the answer they wanted

It was alarming and Tsuna couldn't think of a lie feeling panic build in him because he wasn't allowed to think straight

So he screamed the truth, only to have it rejected every time

"Why you mother f*cker! Why are you keepin a secret like an adult?! When you've just graduated from giving your mom t*tty f*cks"

"Speak up you w*ss! Are you trying to f*ck with the Estraneo?!"

The man released his hands making the brunette lean away from him as he tried to scuffle back to give some space between them. He was knocked out of the chair to the floor with a hard slap. His eyes teared up with panicked confusion as his cheeks stung

"B*tch you'd get f*cked up if you keep silent"

"Are you from the Difo famiglia? Vongola? Gesso? Cavallone? Todd? "

Tsuna couldn't reply, his brain catching up to him slowly as the wind made him feel colder and unbalanced. He couldn't focus on the conversation with the loud voice intimidating him

He was dragged to stand up with the other yanking his hair with each of his strands felt like they burned him and made him focus on the pain rather than anything else

He was then shoved to the wall as he gripped his head in pain

Hands circled his neck as someone breath right in front of him using his oxygen supply. He had hot carbon dioxide shoved at him as his eyes quivered towards the other, fingers clawing at the other's tight grip

His body screamed danger at him and his every hair bristled with adrenaline

The man loomed and spoke clearly and slowly, pronouncing every syllable clearly. His voice rang low and was the center of focus

"What famiglia are you from?"

"I'm a civilian. Please, please believe me. I'm telling the truth" he sobbed out, his adam's apple bobbed uncomfortably against the strong grip at his neck

"You're saying the yakuza shipped a civilian from the iron defense of Namimori under Hibari protection with their mutual partner, a Bovino?!"

"Yes!"

"What kind of idiots do you take us for?! The current head, Hibari Kyoya has a reputation all over to Italy. And you're saying you found the yakuza under his protection?! And Bovino Lambo was considered betraying the Momokyokai partnership with Bovino for no reason?! What's your explanation?! Spit it out" he said gripping the brunette's jaw with painful strength

"I don't know!" He couldn't think with his mind screaming at the pain and intrusion

"How did you meet Bovino Lambo?! Why were you at the bar?! If Bovino was only at the bar for a meetup with his guide... why were you there?!"

"I don't know! I don't know!" He sobbed, just wanting to end all this

His head was rammed against the wall once then twice and he gave a shrill scream and immediately had a sock stuffed into his mouth

From the corner of his eyes, he observed that the man had one less sock and his eyes stung at the foul odor and taste

The sock got removed and the other looked at him and said slowly

"I'll give you one more chance. Which famiglia are you from?"

The brunette stuttered and stumbled to say

"I have no famiglia"

"A freelancer huh? Who are you working for?"

"I-I'm a civilian, sir. Y-you gotta believe me"

The man clicked his tongue and left the room. Just when Tsuna thought he could have a breather, another man came

And Tsuna's pupils expanded in fear and he shivered

That day, his ears rung with screams and shouts while he was on high alert the whole time. No one gave him a break, but they switched between people to continue questioning him

He passed out somewhere in between

* * *

When he woke up, with his tunnel vision slowly expanding and letting him take in the entire surroundings, he saw that he was strapped into a chair

And he wasn't alone. There was the teen in his age, the one he helped the previous day

Water was splashed onto him, making him panic and an adult bent down to his level and said

"We found that you helped this kid out when he was in a bind? You got something special with the kid?"

The brunette shivered in unease as the teen across him widened his eyes in fear as he sharply turned towards the brunette for assistance. He avoided his eyes and looked at his feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world

He felt his throat tighten up as he felt straps force him to look at the other

"How about you help the poor lad one more time? You help me, I'll help you. Ain't it a fair deal?"

Before the other teen could scream, a clamp holding his lower jaw and tongue down together like a sandwich was placed. Now the other could only speak incoherant noises and scream. Saliva drooled down his chin and the brunette tried to look down reflexively only to feel an intense pain followed by a sensation of hot blood flowing down his neck

"Now, now. You have to face your friend properly. Either that or your jaw is going to be pierced through"

Tsuna's eyes widened in horror

Another man entered the room with a cylindrical apparatus with a blade pointing inwards

"We'll show our hospitality to your dear friend. Let's start by giving a manicure. Paint his nails red"

The man fastened the cylinder in a finger of the teen and moved the knife right below the under-skin of the nail. Tsuna and his supposed friend widened their eyes at the implications

There were large cries reverberating around the room as shrieks of high pitches rang in the brunette's ears. He felt his heart pounding loudly ramming against his chest. He felt his palms sweat and he himself started whimpering

When the other man started turning the wheel, the blade made it's way inside and a harrowing scream erupted in the room

Tsuna's breath hitched as he let out a scream too, begging for the other to stop. His pleas couldn't be heard over the screams of his companion and his jaws screamed from the scratches from his abrupt turns and shaking of heads to show his denial

When the deepest part of the nail was permeated through, it looked like a red Christmas tree was painted crimson. Then the blade was retracted and the other teens hands were shaking wildly as he realized 9 more was left

Tsuna clawed his thighs in absolute frustration as his tears flowed along the sides of his eyes. He was sobbing and whimpering loudly as the other's anguished cries reached his ears

Then the cylinder was placed along the index and the teen shook epileptically in his chair crying pathetically. His lower lip was juted upward as his eyes scrunched and he cried like a new born baby

Then the needle was inserted into his nail and he screamed a high pitched scream and Tsuna jumped from his chair, racking the whole furniture upwards and he tried moving it to face the torturer who seemed more interested in his companion than the guy he was supposed to be interrogating. He was too far to tug the other and his words couldn't be heard over the screams

His own tears were blurring his vision and his thighs were bleeding from his sharp grip

By the time one of the hands were done, the teen's pupil's were wide open an unfocused. His voice was hoarse and his drool made his shirt soggy

His hand had crimson red nails and Tsuna didn't care about the pain the blade embedded into his jaw. He was looking at the ground unfocused

A hard slap dislodged the blade from the brunette and made him focus on his companion who looked exhausted

The other adult moved to the other side of the teen who looked petrified like a statue with his mouth open wide and stuck in the position of excrutiating pain

It was as if he wasn't there with them.

But when the knife was lodged into the fingers, hoarse screams echoed and his companion spit out blood, his saliva exhausted

When both the hands were done, the torturer removed Tsuna's jaw clamp and clicked his tongue at the blood. He then proceeded to admonish him while the brunette wanted to yell at them to let the other go. But he was rendered dumb from the ordeal

The other glared hatefully in his direction, but he was too far gone to feel anything

* * *

"Now that we've showed our hospitality... Let's get to business"

The other took the bloody cylinder and placed it on his apparent friend's lap, a sentiment he could find dreadful. Then he went out of the room and brought an apparatus used in hospitals... for mainly IV drips. He injected it into the other's arms and nodded towards the torturer

"We play a game for fun using shots. Basically, a person has to take a pint for any lie they spout. But alcohol is expensive... so we use this kid's blood. You'll be drinking it. You're probably thirsty anyway right?"

Tsuna felt himself going pale and the other mimicked his look

"Why were you at Namimori?"

He'd lie if he had to, but he had to satisfy this monster

"We got info that the Bovino went to Namimori. So we decided to get information"

"The Bovino's flight was incognito, not even the Hibari's can track it especially because it's Bovino technology. How did you get there?"

"I came with Bovino. We're friends"

The man clicked his tongue. He showed two fingers towards the others

Tsuna's eyes widened

"I'm telling the truth. Honest!"

"Bovino went alone, we have direct info from the Bovino famiglia. It was chaos since a random member from the famiglia stole a 1 person and 1 person only jet to Namimori. The Bovinos specialize at efficiency, so there was no way to sneak two people in

No famiglia knew that the Bovino pulled this off. They told us to keep him as a subject for punishment"

Tsuna paled

"But he died and we don't know why you were there"

There were two glasses of blood right next to him

"Drink"

He pursed his lips together in defiance only to get his jaw forcibly dislocated as this time his hoarse scream drew blood from ripping his throat apart. The glasses of blood flowed through his uvula and thought his food pipe and tears flowed down from his infinite tear reservoir. It was salty and metallic and he'd rather have a knife shoved into his throat than taste this. It was like his humanity was being robbed from him, forcing him to recognize that his very existence was bad luck, sucking the very blood and life from a person he had just wanted to help

His companion didn't react to his screams or anything really. It seemed like he was purely exhausted and was minutes away from death

"What was your motive?"

"I was kidnapped by the Momokyokai"

Another glass was forced down his throat. Tsuna choked and wished he could die instead. His mind was swerving uncomfortably and he wished they would just stop

"Please! I'm telling the truth!"

"Who are you working for?"

"I got a personal grudge against Vongola"

"What's your freelancer alias"

"..."

And another glass of blood was drunk. His stomach jiggled with the blood and he felt sick with pure disgust

Tsuna gagged at the iron smell and proceeded to vomit it, unable to take it anymore

"Puke it and I'll take the exact amount and make you drink it" the adult warned

He sniffled and weeped. His ears picked up feeble words aimed at him

The teen across him, looked at him and begged in a weak voice

"Please... tell them everything... I beg you... Please help me again

I... want to...  _live_ "

* * *

Tsuna broke down, feeling utterly helpless

'They don't believe my truth or lies! What can I do?!'

"Please... you got to listen to me. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, a middle schooler from Namimori Middle School. You can check up with the database there or get someone who can do that, maybe a hacker

I'm a kid who gets bullied everyday but other than that, I'm a civilian. I have no crime record. But one day when our school had a school trip, I decided to bunk it and go search around Namimori for quiet places to hang out in

I saw a door in a corner of a building which had a different name plate .It was colored gold, when it's normally wood or plastic or none for all our houses. So I entered there and saw that it was a bar

There was a kid so I wanted to play along so that I could admonish him later, because he was going on and on about the Mafia and I thought he was playing a dangerous game

But I found out that I was in too deep and the kid wasn't bullshitting me so I ran. The momokyokai thought that I was in league with the kid and thought that I was going to oust them. So they shipped me here. That's all that happened

I'm called dame-Tsuna among all the people of town. How do you think I can do all this meticulous planning?!" he said in a frenzy. This had got to work. It was the utter truth

"Give him a pint"

"What?! Why?! I told you the truth! You can verify it"

The man gave him a condescending look

"You... We can't hack the database. Hibari security is literally unpenetrable. Only a few Arcobaleno can do it

You're asking us to verify information that doesn't exist? And by asking us to verify, you're sending us to a rabbit hole aren't you? To save yourself some time"

"No, I'm serious. I can bring all my certificates. You can come with me to Namimori or I can go back and get them"

"You're not going anywhere and you're not getting any of our men stuck in that town

Bovino Lambo isn't stupid. He's just carefree. That's the only reason why he's not boss candidate. He wouldn't fall for a stupid kid's answers

He's pure Mafia-bred. They won't mistaken a civilian"

He was getting desperate here. Why were the people he considered friends so capable that he can't pull anything with them?!

"Oh right, I'm the son of Sawada Iemitsu. He's the Vongola CEDEF-"

"Give this b*tch 3 pints. Idiota! Don't you know Sawada Iemitisu is single?!"

He felt dizzy. It was like his father's protectiveness was ruining things for him. He was so lost he didn't register the blood flowing to his stomach. His eyes glanced at the pasty pale skin of his companion who lost his consciousness

"You have three more pints before you murder your friend. What a heartless b*tch you are! Can't even tell the truth to help a human out. Well yer a well trained mafioso

I'll give you one last chance to alter yer fate and yer friend's fate

What do you want from the Estraneo famiglia?"

"...I want to support a project..."

he said feeling rage bubble up inside him

"I want to support the project for reviving Rokudo Mukuro"

'and damn this Mafia to hell'

The adults gasped and turned serious

One of them grasped at his collar tightly and shaked him in rage

"Why this b*tch! How the h*ll do you know about no.69?! It was top secret!"

And the other shoved blood over his body. The feeling of the sticky liquid made him turn his head towards the teen across him and he saw that the other looked like a dried up corpse and something in him...

...

...

_broke into tiny, tiny pieces_

...

...

And he stared right at them eyes blazing orange and they rushed out of the room and dashed back in with a steaming hot rod

The burning feeling on his chest as the steaming red hot rod sizzled into his skin... imprinting a pattern

There was an ID printed :VST027 along with its barcode

As his screams echoed in the room with people laughing at his suffering... he felt a principle develop against the idea of the Mafia and an urge to stop this kind of anarchy

In the dark room, the only things which glowed were:

The heat rod

and his golden-orange eyes, albeit faintly

* * *

Preview:

Heterochromatic eyes looked at the strange brunette, the newest addition who spent rest time clawing at his id code. He couldn't say that he wasn't amused. But he was interested in the possibility of an ally for his scheme


	7. Two sides of a coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine  
> Note:
> 
> This chapter is more psychological warfare, so there's no warning here (at last, huh? Lol)
> 
> Things get a bit philosophical here, so I'll be adding end notes to show the sides they are standing in and explain a bit more in detail. But you're free to ignore it, if you want to
> 
> And here's a shout out to the people to still read the story and like it:
> 
> Hola fellow psychos ^^, thanks for the support. Here's to loving gore and horror, cheers ^^
> 
> As usual,
> 
> You can comment on anything and put down criticisms or corrections if you spot em. It'll be much appreciated

**Chapter 7**

**Yin Yang: The saint and the devil**

Back to the present

Tsuna rested in his cage, having been converted from suspicious mafia spy to hopeless experiment subject because of his temper. Yeah, he was stupid saying those stuff...

He even got his neighbor as Rokudo Mukuro as a consequence

Said Experiment 69 glared across him after hearing all the snark the scientists told the brunette. If you were curious, they basically said that he had got what he wished for since they interpreted Tsuna's threat as a claim for wanting to steal the experiment. If only he hadn't phrased it that way...

Now, the constant cries around the boy didn't let him make clear decisions. It didn't help that the experiments caused bodily harm. Even if Tsuna passed out from pain when it was conducted, it didn't mean wounds disappeared into thin air...

And Rokudo wasn't helping either

He glared at the brunette and in turn, the irritated brunette glared back

They were like cats and dogs with how hostile they were to each other

The night passed and Tsuna slept to the noise of anguish

The next morning, the cages opened automatically as per schedule and the kids robotically got out of the cage and queued up

They'd be electrocuted if they didn't. It wasn't the amount to make a person pass out, unfortunately. It was more of painful jolts, like the electrocute pads for CPR.

Tsuna observed his fellow inmates, the day being his 3rd day in captivity. He had been noting down the steps from the experiment chambers (for group experiments) to his cage and the intersections along the path

So far, it looked like they had no windows to escape from, the vents were too high up to access and there were no remote tools to utilize. The doors were activated by their torturers by their personal card which they hung around their neck (like it was taunting him). Now, if Tsuna was athletic, he could use the bracelets against them by making contact when they pressed the button to control them, and electrocute them. But he wasn't, so he couldn't spiderman his way up the vent either, or sneakily move through there even if he could

But... that didn't mean he gave up

There were somethings which lead him to believe that he could, in fact get away from the place

Now... other than the fact that the brunette felt his wounds sting when he woke up, his life was very peaceful. No one bothered him and no one bullied him. He wasn't teased and he could have food and rest. He was basically useless to the scientists, since he shut down when the experiment started. And his body didn't react much to anything, like it was living up to his reputation- Dame Tsuna

In fact, it was the first time in his life that he was glad to be no good.

But he didn't want to stay there

When he opened his eyes to look around, he saw only grief and people who wore the same expressions he did. He did want to feel like he belonged... but... he didn't want to wish upon others his pains and troubles

Tsuna believed that there were two kinds of people. He knew so when he looked at the person his delusion considered family

There was him, a bullied kid who was knocked down any peg he could stand on and pushed down life's stairs. The victim who hated himself so much, he can't stand another him

Then there was Rokudo Mukuro, one of the oldest survivors in the famiglia. The victim who wanted the ones who bullied him to fall down to his level and make others...  _just like him_

They both shared the same sentiment having known the character of each other. They didn't like each other was the understatement of the century

'I dunno why 'Tsuna' considered that guy his family of all things. I don't want anything to do with him'

Nights from then, he woke up with the sounds of cheer to see that Rokudo got his hands at the keys to their cages and had opened the cages of the kids. They were sitting around him, waiting for him to speak.

Mist was in the air and Tsuna understood what transpired

The pineapple-head had a plan apparently

* * *

"The night's young. So we have enough time to put those Mafia scum in their place... down in hell"

They all cheered in delight at the chance to get away from the hellhole

Tsuna scoffed at the dramatics. The teen turned his way to the caged cellmate and spoke belittlingly

"I forgot about you... You're already put in your damn place"

Tsuna rolled his eyes, not willing to rise up to the taunt

"They took our names, our families, our identity... our soul!"

They cheered loudly

"The pain we feel... no one can ever understand...

The sheer injustice! Why should we suffer when they can strut around while we bleed and toil. They bathe in our tears. They wring us dry. They give us no grave to rest in. We will not rest in peace

Why should they live on our deaths?

Why should they live without suffering?"

The children were getting riled up. There was a chatter fluttering in the air. Unrest and anger filled the air

"Why are we letting them get away with such atrocities?

Why can't we stand up and fight?"

They were yelling and screaming their support. It felt fanatical

"Let them pay their due price. We will take take what we want right from their grubby paws

From this day on, we will start a rebellion"

Tsuna felt skeptical in the beginning, but then as the other put his speech forward... something crackled in him

"We have lost countless. They gave no way of fighting back. But I can fight for your will"

The room became were hushed silent as they waited with baited breaths and fingers crossed. They hoped desperately that they could be saved

"With my power, I can obliterate every last member of the Estraneo scum. But that wouldn't be satisfying would it?"

Tsuna felt a wave of blood-lust pass him, like his disdain of the famiglia evolved to something more sinister. And he wasn't alone. Rage filled every corner of the building

"Wouldn't you like to see them suffer? Writhe in agony?"

The atmosphere was vengeful

"Sell your soul to me and I'll grant you... your freedom and justice"

They nodded and pumped their fists up eagerly, just itching to do something... anything if it meant changing their predicament. Pleased that he got their absolute cooperation, he smirked, ready to put out his plan forward. The room was chaotic and felt unsettling

"Then get all the weapons in the building. We'll let them have a taste of their own... 'medicine'

No one will stop you. We are just in our motives

The pain we felt, the suffering we underwent

Why would we want to run away like dogs with their tails tucked away?! They deserve pain!"

They stood up in their excitement and uproared

"We want to see their blood! We'll strip their organs and give them a painful death

Do you want to let them go just like that? Don't you want revenge?!

Are you fine with letting them murder your families, your friends?!"

They screamed in outrage

"Then we'll show them what monsters get, when they live in our world. What do trash like that deserve?"

They chanted

"Murder! Murder! Murder! Murder! Murder!"

Death threats flew in the volatile air

"Show me what you want to see on their faces"

They bit their skin, tore their bandages, scratched their skin away to show him

_blood_

"Then swear your fealty to me and I shall help you with your justice" he raised his materialized trident towards them

The crowd scampered forward and dyed the weapon red

As blood dripped onto the floor, Mukuro looked at them with a sinister smile as their pupils dilated

and cackled

"Kufufufufufu

_fufufu_

_Kufufufufu_ "

* * *

Then a voice penetrated through the laughter

"Are you satisfied with just that? Rokudo Mukuro"

The illusionist turned his head towards the source of the noise, to see glowing amber eyes aimed at him

"Afraid you'll be lonely in here when the Estraneo die? Don't worry, I'll personally stab you to death tonight"

"I'm afraid. I won't be satisfied with dying here"

"Why? Because it's not the place where you're destined to die?" he mocked

"I have my own agendas with the Estraneo"

"Oya? You want to lend a hand in murdering these scum?"

"No. If I have my way, They won't be dying anytime soon"

"...

You mafia are all the same. Do you want to use them for your famiglia? After you've personally experienced what we go through...

 _You want people like them to live?_ "his eyes glowered with pure hate as he zeroed in on the brunette who was still  _infuriatingly calm_

"You're quite a  _saint_ ,aren't you? Rokudo" Tsuna mocked

He thought the other was playing hero, thinking the other would preach him on the values and virtues of life, say...

He was completely startled, his guard lowered and the illusion he cast around the institution wavered for a few seconds

Amber glowed as the other spoke to him patronizingly

"Why would you kill someone and end it that quick when you can make them suffer for life?" he laughed humorously

"You think that it ends with death? They'd be sent to hell!"

"They're  _researchers_  for the  _mafia._  What do you think they'd work for? World peace?"

The other snarled at him

"Besides, they didn't traffic you guys... they were sent as  _presents_ by the other famiglia. That's why the Vindice won't capture these guys... but they'll capture you and the ones still living and you'd be a lab rat with  _no goal this time_ "

"I'll just have to take over the Mafia"

"You in what army?"

"I just need a good vessel. I'll take the Vongola Decimo candidate and make the Mafia collapse from the inside"

"You think that's going to work since the Vongola's the most powerful famiglia in the world right now? Do you even know what's going on right now?" He asked incredulous

Getting no response and seeing that the illusionist was bristling and defensive, he continued

"Varia's Xanxus murdered two of the candidates for the succession. No one pinned him down for it yet. And the Nono's too sentimental to accept the truth that his very son was murdering all his others to get into that list... because he was adopted. And guess what, even if he kills every last one of them, he still won't be selected

If that happens, the next in line would be a civilian. Isn't that ridiculous? That is going to be your vessel" he laughed hysterically

"You know what that civilian is known for in Namimori? For being absolutely useless and failing horribly to do basic activities. He's called dame-Tsuna, for petes sakes"

"You could be lying like that Mafia scum you are! If things were really that bad, the famiglia would have heard about it!"

The brunette didn't even flinch

"Use your trident to break the cuffs and I'll show you how"

Feeling suspicious, but curious at the basis for the confidence the brunette showed. He broke the cuffs with the trident, feeling surprised that the other didn't flinch when he did so. The brunette had personally seen him possess the others by taking their blood... so why did that mafia b*tch offer him the power to control his body (practically on a silver plate)

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, that civilian" he said removing his shirt

There were scars and bruises littered all over his body, cut scars plentiful in number... a telltale story of what the brunette experienced and what he was trying to pull off

"If I was killed, Vongola collapses and the Mafia is in chaos. Simple right?

Then someone else will take over and your plan's thwarted"

Seeing the other observe his body seriously, he added

"I've failed in killing myself, so if you can kill me,  _please... please do_ " he choked

Mukuro's eyes widened in shock at how the boy he thought apathetic, sniveled like a baby

* * *

"I've not been there like you've been... but I want the Mafia destroyed

I've seen monsters beat a small animal to flesh and bones in my had me as a substitute until they found a bond between me and a cat for pete's sakes...They just  _loved_  the fact that I was showing emotions like a normal human

And I'm damn sure there are others who would do the same to see that reaction from me again

I've seen a kid who's rejected by his family because he didn't approve of his family's experiments. If there's one Estraneo... there are others

Estraneo is just one of the other Mafia famiglia

You know what the Vongola was? A Vigelante. Funny, seeing how far they dropped!

And I'm supposed to inherit that blood! Do you know what they do to boss' that betray the famiglia? They break their bones from each part and take the organs

They do that over a month. There is no easy death

I've been drowned by civilians, I don't know what the Mafia would do to me!

The moment you murder the Estraneo, you'll be hauled in by the Vindice. Then what? If you're the worst prisoner they got, you're going to be drowned" he shivered ,his body reacted automatically, fueled by his trauma

"And you're never going to feel sensations from that body of yours" he pointed at the other

"You're best alternative would be going through one vessel after the other, as they hunt them all down like they hunt ducks for sport

That would the only way you wouldn't be a vegetable would be using another corpse to be to live on like a parasite"

A trident got lodged right at his neck, he ignored the burning sensation at his throat as he used it to get up, ignoring the burn his sensitive hands felt when they cut against the sharp pain. He continued desperate and hysterical

"I want to show that this kind of dealings are nothing but injustice. No one should have the power to use beings like wooden toys, like it's an experiment to find what tinkers

How can you force someone to drink the blood of a person you wanted to help out? That person didn't even have a motive to do that! If I knew that something like that was going to happen, I wouldn't have dare helped them! Forced to suck them dry and watch their nails paint blood red like it was some damn show!

This is not the right way to gain power! That's no way to treat a person who looks, breathes, eats, sleeps like you!"

"Then you're saying that we should just say the system is wrong?! That the whole reason why we were stuck in this hell hole for 13 years was just because we were unlucky?!

That we couldn't do anything about it?! That we shouldn't even try?!

There is no peaceful, blood less solution for it. They should get just what they deserve and feel and live through what we lived through"

They glared at each other, seemingly at a deadlock

Then Tsuna stepped up with a huff and just when Rokudo could smirk a victory, the brunette shuffled through his hair picking up a coin (He learned a trick from Lambo)

And said with an absolute straight face

"Then let's flip a coin"

"Huh?"

"Well, if you don't want to... you could always kill me to see if I said the truth or not... and get to Vendicare prison. Kind of redundant, isn't it?"

The illusionist glared at him

"Pick"

'What an idiot! Making me pick with my hyper intuition and all. Well, he doesn't know and I'll keep it that way as far as I can' Tsuna thought, biting his lips to hide his laugh

"Heads"

They flipped the coin, only for it to land, obviously on its head

Mukuro couldn't believe it and when he looked at the other's smug look, he opened his mouth to protest, to claim that the other cheated

"Are you going to whine, Rokudo?"

And promptly swallowed any words. He smiled a smile, not quite reaching his eyes

"Of course not, Tsunayoshi-kun. What makes you think that  _I_  of all people would say so in a game  _obviously totally fair,_  right?" he stressed those words to get a confirmation, kind of a low-key whine

"Totally fair, Rokudo"

Stuffing down his amusement at seeing the other twitch, he said seriously

"I want to sabotage them with libels and malarkey, to be frank"

The other elegantly raised an eyebrow, prompting him to elaborate

"How much do you know about Estraneo?"

The other snorted. Tsuna tried again

"Come on, I'm new here. Do you-"

"I know the place inside out. Come on, how long do you think I lived here?"

"Yeah, ok. Then I need to broadcast the experiments to all the mafia famiglias, alter the face images a bit... so that it's hard to find you if they try to drag you back. It'd be like picking a needle from a haystack

But there should be resemblance"

Mukuro looked outraged

"Tsunayoshi-kun, what kind of fool do you think we are? Hmm? One that'd like to sell us all to the black market quickly and easily? "

"You guys probably already had a bid on you anyway. If you put all the information out, they'll be violating customer privacy

Estraneo's the go to guy for the Mafia right? Then if we ruin the trust with their clients-"

The illusionists eyes widened

"You don't have to baby me. Who do you think I am? We'll get Estraneo as the number one target of their wrath. Chikusa"

The silent teen at his side nodded as he moved forward

Tsuna looked surprised

"I wouldn't possess everyone. That would be stupid

But I needed you to reveal your true nature, in case you thought that you could 1 up me. Not that you can ever do that, in your life" he said looking at him patronizingly

They were planning on sending the information about the weapons, both biological and technological with the number of orders along with the client list out there for all the famiglia's to see

Lambo had told Tsuna that not even the Vendice could do anything about the Estraneo since all the famiglias usually did business there. There weren't any other famiglias that serious about human mutilation and mutation

Verde focused on automation, believing the power of devices rather than people. And the Bovino dealt mostly in explosives and other innovative devices (ten year bazooka)

(And Talbot was hidden from most of the Mafia. The Millefiore didn't exist, yet... so no Spanner or Shoichi)

The collapse of the Estraneo would bring chaos... that's what Tsuna wanted

The next day, experiments took place as normal with the scientists unsuspecting of the state of their subjects

* * *

At night, Tsuna's cage was open as the illusionist beckoned (high handedly with his fingers) to sit across him

Two other people sat in their circle. Everyone else was dazed and the institution was misty

The brunette took the bread he saved and tossed it to Mukuro who caught it instinctively

"What's this for?"

"Eat it. You've been using that mist and keeping up with the possessions for two days now. You need the energy

Anyway, how did the scientists not figure out that you guys messed with the products?"

The two looked at the indigo haired teen in surprise, as the other looked intensely at the brunette for a moment

The blond haired teen said

"That's obvious, pyon! We deleted all records of tampering with the machine"

The brunette sighed with relief. He then looked like he was deciding whether to say something or not

"Oya? It seems like you've got the next part of your plan ready. Tell or else the toss would have been pointless"

"...We could break the glass cover of the biometrics panel or the glass from the emergency exit button and fix it in the recognition panel, so when the torturer-" he shut up, embarrassed he said that loud ignoring the snickers and the amused look Rokudo shot at him and continued after a deliberate cough

"tries to verify their id, they'd get pricked. They can either think it's static charge or you could stay there and immediately possess them"

The illusionist's brain was ticking and Tsuna did not like the conclusion he was sure the other would come to

Chikusa piped up instead

"Mukuro-sama, that Possessed sc*m can gain access to the weapons room and get the weapons and shoot every last one of them "

The brunette paled

The illusionist smiled and said

"It'd be better to let that sc*m possess the others. Then we just have to take control of the lab entirely and show them what they're messing with"

The other two were on board that plan. He saw the brunette searching for something just then and he smiled wider

"Looking for the coin? Sure, let's play it again, same stakes. But I'll toss it"

'Nice. He hasn't figured it out'

"Tails"

And it landed on tails. Mukuro and Ken gaped at him

"I win. Back to the topic... We'll make the guy possess the rest of them and get them to spit out what each door holds. There ought to be a storehouse for the personal details for the employees. Sell their stocks and empty their bank accounts to other sources at once. We'll let the police know"

Mukuro couldn't stop gaping at him

"Well, yeah... this is like exposing the existence of the Mafia to Italy, maybe the world. But that works out for us. The Mafia will be rushing to cover their asses since Estraneo's pretty much gonna out itself to the world

Right, we need a reason. Otherwise the Vindice will hunt us. Let's create a trail that Vindice hardcoded in case of emergencies, and show that the trail got misdirected over time. Is that possible, Kakimoto-san?"

The teen nodded

"I can make it link with computers, change the timestamps and make it seem that some civilians changes the link to a public side and it got exposed

But I'll need a day minimum"

When the brunette looked at the illusionist worried the other scoffed

"Please don't insult me like that. I can keep in control of my powers for far longer"

"Then hold on until we find sleeping pills. We'll make enough for two days of sleep" and not noticing Mukuro and the others bristling at the thought of the others ingesting it

"And give them to most of the scientists. Let's leave one for manipulation and information" he then looked at how tense they were and gave a questioning look

"We could sell the locations online later after we escape-"

"I'll make a delayed bomb. I checked last night, the Estraneo downloaded their attachments automatically. I could fill the computer downloads with viruses of varying strengths"

Tsuna looked surprised that the black haired teen initiated a conversation on his own remembering that the delusion said the other didn't talk to 'him' unless prompted. He asked instead of thinking on it

"You won't be coding them all right?"

Ken replied angrily

"Kaki-p keeps them on the computer already, pyon! We needed information, so he got better at cracking the computer and hiding files. We just need to uncover them. Stop worrying so much, pyon!"

"Hmm... Ok then. You could do one thing, you could create a fake account and slowly transfer the money from other dummies, like you could keep one or two illegal accounts and use it to fund yourselves if you're going to travel from there to a place you want to live

You guys could slowly get into a civilian life. Could be more peaceful"

Looking at them stare at him, he hastily said

"A-Ah, the account may have Mafia links, but you guys deserve it more than they do. So you can ,if you want to, use them to do whatever you want

You'll be free to do that then

Yeah, but a civilian's life might not be bliss... take it from me"

Ken started laughing then and the brunette averted his face to avoid showing the blush sporting in his cheek

'They definitely think I'm a softy now'

"You could also leak the locations of their home and their family. You can choose what to do, because you've been more personally affected than anyone else, so I can't force you to accept my choices here"

Chikusa looked at him and said

"They'd be found by the Mafia either way when we do those"

"Yeah, but you can chose whether you want to do that or you want the Mafia to do that"

Mukuro noted amusedly

"You know, for saying that the system has to be changed, you're the one in the end making the more extreme decision"

Tsuna looked at him sardonically

"That's why I said you were an angel, Rokudo-san. Estraneo can be put up as an example for the future famiglias if they went too far. So that's why I thought of this"

In the next few days, the plan had been put to motion and easily executed

Mukuro had looked as refreshing and energetic (throwing cynical and sassy remarks as usual) as he usually was and Tsuna ignored all protests as he gave him extra bread and food to eat, claiming that he hadn't felt hungry

Tsuna grimaced as he entered one room, there were corpses everywhere. Mukuro had tagged along with him claiming that he was bored and everything else was finished

"We've already evacuated the rest of them you know and scrambled more images with confusing data about us, they'd probably ignore us if they see us thinking that the Estraneo was hacked by desperate famiglia

Those stupid Mafia will never discuss it in detail, since it would confirm a lot of plans."

Tsuna grunted as he approached the fresher corpses and brought them down

"So why are you still here? We'll be leaving. Don't you want to go back to Japan?"

Tsuna looked at him in shock

"You forget that I knew about you from the files after those sc*m were screeching at you"

He nodded, chastising himself for being so distracted he forgot that the other searched him up when the 'researchers' were gloating to him

"Yeah, I remember now. Sorry, it's just that I have some last minute preparations. I'll have to mutilate these and lay them around the base and make sure the floors are soaked with a lot of blood"

Mukuro scoffed

"With you looking that pale? I don't think you can do that"

"I have to. Or the Vindice will figure it out"

"Let them. They'll turn a blind eye to it"

"The Vindice?!"

"Idiota, you forget that they couldn't capture them because it had a lot of strings. Now they're all cut loose"

"Ah... yeah. But what if?"

"There won't be any proof tying us down to here. We're already being taken down from the black market and the files here are burnt

Kufufu...We can be the needles in the haystick

Oh right. Let's make one last bet, Will we go hunt down every Mafia family or take a little vacation and spend the useless piles of paper in our accounts?

I call tails"

He said as he flipped the coin towards Tsuna

"Kufufu. A vacation it is"

Tsuna looked surprised at the coin which showed a tails

'Why he... figured it all out... then wait, what-?'

He whipped his face towards the illusionist who was smiling a bright smile. The brunette relaxed and smiled back cheery after the two week ordeal

"Besides... the Mafia have other problems"

The illusionist turned and moved ahead saying

"The Vongola's Xanxus killed the other two. He's been put on trial under the charge of getting rid of the only candidates for succession"

* * *

**Author's end notes:**

There are two kinds of justice being talked here

retributive justice and restorative justice

Retributive justice is basically an eye for an eye. If a person does a crime, then they have to suffer the same pain the victim went through, to be called even. Mukuro was advocating this

Restorative justice is one where the crime doer would be forgiven, but has to atone for their crimes in some way or the crime is focus not the criminal. Tsuna was advocating this in the bigger picture, he was letting the 'researchers' live and forced the Mafia to prevent such power hoarding and also forced them to change their sources, it won't solve the problem but it could let the Vendice regulate their trades better

**Let's put a quick question for fun:**

How do you think Rokudo knew about the Vongola at the end? Normally this kind of thing would be kept hush hush

**Preview:**

The teen huffed a cigarette as he looked the moping brunette in front of him

"I could get you a ticket back to Japan without 'em tracking you, if you left that topic alone"


	8. You can't hide forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine  
> Hope you have fun reading this and if you have any comments or get confused with how the plot's moving leave a PM or a review
> 
> (This author ain't a good talker huh?)

** Chapter 8 **

** You can't hide forever **

Tsuna looked at the slums in front of him. Mukuro and company said that they had other stuff to do, so they didn't come along

" _Who'd want to go with Mafia scum anyway?" the illusionist quipped_

But, the reason he was in this location was a result from their suggestion

_Mukuro looked at the lost puppy look directed at him and clicked his tongue_

" _Didn't you tell me that you split with that Bovino brat? If the rumors are correct then you'd see him in the slums. That's where he's sighted usually_

_So stop staring into space and get lost already. I don't want to be captured because they found a suspicious kid at these quarters"_

'Is Bovino really going to be here? I thought if you're in the Mafia, you'd be in a really large shady mansion...' the brunette thought skeptically as he took side glances as he moved in the side walks

Suddenly, a hand fell on his shoulders.

Squeaking he fell to the ground expecting the worst of scenarios. A rugged man towered upon him condescendingly

"You're looking for Bovino Lambo?"

'Was Lambo expecting me? Smart kid'

"Yeah"

The man grunted and turned around. Tsuna jumped to his feet, his nerves already tensed to the peak after observing the grim surroundings he'd been walking on

When the man glared at him to hurry up, the brunette took a final glance around and decided to follow him

'Regardless of whether I'd get ganged up or beaten to death, there's nothing I can do anyway'

Squaring his shoulders and hunching forward, he tried to make himself look as small and insignificant as possible

The walk was silent, save for the hoots and shouts from the quarrels from their sides

Finally, the man opened a door and ushered him in. The shutting of the door made his blood go cold and he hoped he'd live a bit longer

And it seemed like that wouldn't get answered when suddenly his vision got cloudy as a smell he could distinctly identify as chloroform overcame anything else he smelled at the moment. His eyes burnt with unshed tears as despair muffled him, just like the cloth over his mouth

* * *

"Tsunayoshi-kun~ Get up already"

A cheerful voice woke him up. Tsuna tried to make sense of his surroundings, ignoring the feeling of someone poking his sides. When light tunneled into his vision, he saw a face that made him paler than snow

All at once, blood filled his ears, a loud ringing filled the room and his body grew completely stiff

His visitor didn't like the fact that he was screaming apparently, seeing that he shoved a sock into his mouth

"Geez, after seeing an old friend, the first thing you do is scream" the teen in front of him pouted

Tsuna jerked his head to check for escape routes in the white room he was tied up in and panicked when he didn't find any visible doors or windows. Then the guy in front of him forcibly grabbed his attention by the chin. When he spoke, the scent of marshmallows was strong and Tsuna could swear everything around him was pure white- the room, its decorations, the clothes of his kidnapper, the food said kidnapper ate.

"It's been a long time- or should I say, nice to finally meet you?" Byakuran Gesso said as he brought out an incense stick from his desk and lit it, placing it next to their chairs

He then took out the socks, looking mildly disgusted at the saliva and threw it at the brunette's feet

"How do you know-"

"I get that you got a lotta questions, but I'm not interested in playing 21 questions. I don't like getting interrogated you see~

Let me just say one thing for the intro- just like how your future self has kept contact with you through a technology, it's not like no one could figure what they were doing for precautions, especially the mafia group that won in the timeline. Especially since you lost and seeing how scared you were when you saw me, you know exactly how you lost

It's not fair if you're the only one who got a head start, you see~"

"Those guys wouldn't have diverged the info about that Tsuna sending info to me"

"Sure they wouldn't. Those guys were a pain in the neck. But it's not like the most influential group in power and information couldn't tap into it"

"Weren't Irie and Sawada friends?!"

"But the Vongola that won against the Gesso group weren't from this timeline, so the you from the future wasn't reliable enough to get Sho-chan to team up with them. Sad story right?"

The brunette looked shocked at his words. Then, in this future... he didn't have to fight them? Or was it just another Sawada from another parallel world who got that privilege? With hope building up, he asked the white haired teen

"So does that mean you still want to conquer the world? In that case, I should tell you, I don't plan on being the boss if I can do anything about it"

He was met with the most pitying of looks as the other told him

"There's no more conquering worlds, since we already done it. What's the point in doing over things again and again?"

Tsuna could feel the beginning of a smile at his face

"But you not being the boss? Wow. That's the only thing you have so far in common with the Tsunayoshi-kun that won

Either way, that's going to be very difficult"

"I've not done anything that'd make me stand out like that-"

"Hah? Are you kidding me? Not stand out? Like how you broadcast the Estraneo information?"

It felt like there was cold water spilled all over him and he looked wide eyed at the Gesso heir

"Geez Tsunayoshi-kun, you'd be in a hitman list for even managing to do that. What was the future you thinking giving a kid such information? Look what have you done with that"

Getting no reaction, Byakuran turned towards him and patted him on the shoulder

"But don't worry Tsunayoshi-chan, I've taken the blame in putting them down to feed our reputation. So let me see a smile in that face" he said showing all his pearly whites

"... … … What do you want me to do?"

"Huh? Give me a smile?"

"What did you gain from taking the blame?"

"...

So suspicious. I guess you'd have that after you twisted the students from Namimori to harbor malicious intent towards you. In fact it was twisted to watch. You getting bullied, you provoking them to get bullied harsher. What a vicious cycle"

"Please don't redirect the conversation. I want to know what are the conditions and what I owe you in exchange for the survivors safety"

"A protection fee, huh? Pretty shrewd of you to try get another favor"

"Well you're a Mafia syndicate and they usually give services for protection for a price right?"

"Is it really fine to strike a deal with the Mafia? You might lose a limb or two~"

"It's not like I can get free since you've got dirt on me"

"Hmm~ But it's not like I can use you since you're just an ordinary citizen~

Hey, how bout I tell you what I've done and what you have to repay"

"..."

* * *

"Say Tsunayoshi-kun, did you think you could actually leak all the information between enemies and get away with a hacker did it or the group did it to sabotage each other?

Sure you went about it in a smart way, choosing where to start and where to end... but in that short time frame with really smart people monitoring you? That's a suicidal plan, kid"

'I'm not letting a word slip about Mukuro and the others...'

"You're lucky we directed all that info to us and that we spread it through our diverse information network

And

You're lucky that I egged Hibari to try shutting down Estraneo"

"If you've done your research, you'd know that Hibari doesn't let people get close. He would much rather bite me to death rather than protect me, if that's what you're implying"

"Huh, really?~

The new heir would disagree, especially since I showed the scars you've gotten"

Tsuna's chair cluttered as he jumped at that information. Byakuran merely laughed at his reaction and continued

"I mean if someone sent you important information, isn't it normal to check the source and how legitimate it is? It's just that in our case, we hacked the surveillance cameras near the computers a bit, since the others were mysteriously switched off" he said teasingly. He continued shrugging

"Hibari was a tough customer. He didn't want to listen to a word I said until I tried my luck on the relation between you guys in the future by showing the video on the torture

He was pissed was an understatement. In fact, the reason why the Estraneo shut down in that short time could be mostly attributed to him. Man, the Hibaris are so scary~" he said, inching towards the brunette. Towering over him and at a face's distance, he whispered

"I would wonder what you did to get his loyalty this early on. But then, I had the front rows towards the things you've done in a, let's say, a very similar way you did

I have to say, you keep things interesting, Sawada Tsunayoshi. But I won't forgive you if you try and take the easy way out. You've got a debt to fulfill"

"...I'm not being a Mafia Boss, Gesso"

"Call me Byakuran, like you've done in the future. If you can get away from being a member from the Mafia, go ahead and try. I'm of the opinion that you're already a part of it~" he said slipping a card in his hand

Tsuna looked at it curiously

"That's your ticket back to Namimori, as per your cloud guardian's condition-"

"He's not my cloud guardian-"

"And the way to keep in contact with me. You know what'd happen if you lose it, right?"

The brunette gulped

"It's gonna find you, silly~ It's got honing features. You can't burn it, dissolve it, tear it or disintegrate it. And if you try to avoid me, I'll be so sad~ My friend would contact you though, you'd know them

Now shoo. Hibari-chan would have my head otherwise" he chirped, cutting the wires and helping the brunette stand up

"It's the room from right of the floor below. Happy journey"

Tsuna walked towards the door disoriented and confused. When he was about to exit the room, he heard the parting words the heir shouted that sent shudders through him

"If you think that the bullying was bad, wait till you experience what the people in your missions do to the 'soft hearted', 'wimpy', 'loser' you. I doubt you'd have any fun in the missions"


	9. I'm home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine  
> Hope you enjoy the story and you can go ahead write comments on the story in the reviews or ask questions to which I'd PM to, to answer it (It's really fun to read 'em). But if it's confusions regarding the plot, I'll post on it in the chapter itself

**Chapter 9**

**I'm Home**

One doesn't have to have psychic intuition or be a great detective to figure out that it's a bad idea to try rebel in a house full of mafia men and women. But Tsuna had the utmost  _pleasure_ to hear first hand, about what happens when someone tries that out. He tried his best to keep his vision to his boots after hearing muffled screams from the depth of the corridors. It was quite unfortunate that the sharp hearing he developed from years of being bullied bit him back in the worst of places

'I need to get rid of the card somehow...' He thought with his pale knuckles gripping tightly onto the card, when suddenly

He yelped, startling the guards surrounding him to focus their attention to him.

'I forgot about that burned hand'

But the guards didn't look away even when he explained the pain from gripping with his wounded hand

Then inspiration struck, and the brunette decided to test his luck

"E-excuse me sir... Could you keep a hold on this card?"

On seeing their suspicious glances, he quickly rectified

"I-I'm sorry for asking so much... but, my hand got burned very badly when I was captured in Estraneo. Byakuya-san really helped me to get out of there... ha..ha... But it hurts so much..." he said, clutching his wound tightly enough to bleed a little, just to get his tear ducts working

'Now this is the important part. This will determine Gesso's character'

"Give it to me. Byakuran-sama told me that the card was to be present on you when we reach Namimori" a guard said taking the card with him

Tsuna grinned internally to himself at the discovery

"Thank you very much"

The rest of their journey to the private hangars was fairly quiet and Tsuna took the time to plot

"Here's the card. It has an RFID tag which you have to swipe in the sensor to disarm the security devices for moving through the hallway"

"What about the security in the hallways?"

"Overhead sensors for biometric recognition. It's state of the art. We will reach Namimori safely, there's no need to worry"

"You guys are amazing. I heard that the Gesso Famiglia had impressive technology, but it's another thing to see it with my very eyes"

Amber eyes focused on the slightly proud puff the men gave, as pride filled them

'So I was right... These guys weren't given complete information if they're taking the time to explain these things to me... Not to mention that they didn't object or look distrusting when I said nonsense to get them to take the card...

Luckily I didn't have to weave another set of lies to get the story to fit what happened.

So Gesso doesn't trust these guys deeply huh? Or maybe, it's because they're the grunts of a Mafia organization...

Either way, these guys have misunderstandings regarding my identity'

The hallway was pretty long, so Tsuna could make complete use of the time

"I didn't think that the Gesso could intercept Estraneo like that"

"We have the best of technicians in the world. It was only natural that we could get the upper hand from that famiglia sooner or later"

"I heard all of their sensitive information got leaked"

"It was the quick decision from Byakuya-sama. It sunk them quite fast, since we moved fast after we got the information"

"That worked well for us too. It will help build relations with our famiglia and yours"

"An alliance with the Vongola will be very favorable for us"

'Could it be? That Bovino was right? That I have a relation to the Vongola...? Maybe... Let's try to find information on which side of my family I got that from'

"But why did you decide to create a tie with my family's side of the Vongola?"

"Information can determine who lives or dies. Naturally, a tie to the external CEDEF would be like striking gold"

The brunette paused for a minute, just to remind himself to keep walking and breathing normally

'It's not the time to panic, dammit' he thought, frustrated that his breathing got quicker

'Come on! Pull yourself together! I'm not going to be a Mafia Boss like that Brunette identity thief!'

There it was, in front of him, a sleek, gleaming private jet. It was an experience Tsuna would pay any amount to avoid ever facing

'A 24 hour cage with these guys?' he heard clicks and his pulse quickened as he remembered seeing the guns surrounding the adult version of him in a white room. Not to mention they were inside the pure white hangar with an equally white jet.

'I want to puke'

Blood rushed as he saw that they were just checking their guns and its safety mechanisms for a check up

'I can't understand why would Tsunayoshi give his whole life to protect people from the Mafia. I can't live in this kind of environment for the rest of my life.'

* * *

Then a calm washed over him as a resolution filled his consciousness

'If I can't get rid of that card by the time I reach Namimori... This time...

I won't fail a suicide attempt. I won't chicken out like I always do, since all I have to do is pull the trigger'

"Hey, from the Estraneo incident, I've lost my gun. Do you have an extra?

Don't worry, I won't be using it to betray you guys. My dad already got informed of what happened in Estraneo. The deal's sealed, so it wouldn't make any sense for me to pull any triggers"

'Well it's true that dad would get to know about the Estraneo, but not my existence, if Gesso is as sharp as I think he is. It would harm his famiglia since I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place'

They looked a bit reluctant, but they threw a gun over to him

Tsuna could feel his heart in his throat as his stomach felt like it could sink into the depths of oceans, as he woozily thought

'A head shot could never fail me

Who's gonna be dragged into missions as favor? If my imagination serves me true... I'm gonna be dragged into the Mafia world with the promise of exposure into the life of a Vongola'

He looked into his current world detached, seeing the stairs descend and he threw his card towards a slightly dazed guard, and as he hoped... the guy shot at it reflexively

Then successive sounds of the safety being released resonated through the building and Tsuna shivered. But he had to continue the charade

"Hey, it's just my card. I threw it to you since it would hurt my palms, remember, they're burnt?"

The other relaxed slightly and despite feeling suspicious eyes on him, he continued

"Ah. Was it too sudden? Sorry about that"

"You're to keep it with you until the end of the flight, so that you won't lose it by the end of the flight"

'Damn. So that plan's a failure huh? Then Plan B'

"Then could you bandage my hand and give me gloves? Civilians tend to get shaky when they see bandages"

Hearing a grunt of approval, Tsuna released a breath of relief

'Now the window of opportunity would lie in the plane flying in altitudes with less chances of communication monitoring'

"How about we go through the route from Netherlands, then to Finland to gulf coast through the Meghalaya of India to reach Japan if it's not too much trouble?

Byakuran-san told me that agents would communicate directly to me for the information I should pass to the headquarters. You see, I couldn't stay long enough in the Gesso quarters to complete negotiations"

'Well, that's a lie. Gesso wanted me out because of Hibari and most probably to prevent information leak to the CEDEF, since my very presence in Italy would be a liability to the Gesso famiglia

But anyway, since Gesso wasn't trusting these guys I can feed them any amount of half truths and lies to get away with things since communication can get one sided

And these guys would say that they chose the route to allow communication to flow smoothly, and they would interpret it as the airway passage caused interference and wouldn't report it to the higher ups

If that isn't the case...' the weight in his slacks made him gulp

With woolen gloves snugly fit into his hands, Tsuna hoped for the best for the second part of the plan as he muttered a praise for the card's ability to stay in one piece despite the fact that a bullet shot right at it

When he entered the plane and sat in the midst of two burly men, he tried his best to ignore feeling claustrophobic and started rubbing his hands commenting that the AC was too cool for a person like him who stayed in a tropical country like Japan

Then the plane took off and Tsuna hoped that the plane wouldn't crash because of the route he chose to get his plan to work

The brunette ignored his brain as he flinched with every rub and tried to engage in small talk to keep the men from observing his behavior too deeply

* * *

When the first turbulence washed over the jet, Tsuna felt his lips tip towards a smirk

And as if right on cue, an announcement rang over the aisles

"We will experience some turbulence since the jet has maneuvered into thunderclouds. Please do not panic and stay calm during the series of turbulences"

'Now, to begin the sabotage of the card due to unfortunate circumstances'

He rolled a sleeve back during a turbulence with his teeth as he synched himself to a fall, and during the next turbulence, with his arm shouldering his card he moved his dry, woolly glove towards the bullet dent (as shallow as it was) and felt a sharp tingle on his arm

'Now with that static electricity, the card's done for with lightning to blame'

The turbulences got worse with time and the cabin lights had to be switched off and he felt people shoving him from both sides due to the harsh rocking and he allowed himself to fall forward and bump his head directly at the seat in front of him

The impact was harsh and Tsuna could feel himself loose consciousness, but he could also feel his card slip out of his slack's pocket

The next moment he woke into consciousness, he found himself in Namimori grounds. The first thing he did was do a full body check to see if he had any card on him and felt a rectangular shape in his bag and disappointment well into him

Fishing the card out, he grumbled to himself

'It was... just my Namimori ID card'

He let out a deep breadth and spread out in the lawn near the Namimori shrine he was left at

'It doesn't really make any difference that I'm in Namimori or I'm at Italy' he thought darkly

'Hibari already heard that I was at a Mafia famiglia from Gesso. That guy would have probably told him about my relation to the Vongola. If that demon prefect didn't believe him with the pictures, then he'd have investigated and figured I helped out an illegal immigrant Mafia associate from the Bovino famiglia' Tsuna gripped himself into a hug to protect himself from the fear encompassing him

* * *

Tsuna always knew... that it took only one person, to bring people to believe that what they could do to someone was completely acceptable

After all, that was how he was bullied

One day, someone called him out publicly and jeered at him, teasingly, mockingly,  _affectionately_ gave him a nickname, justifying it. Then it started with small shoves, talks and whispers, giggles at his expense. Then followed his belongings shuffled out of its place as if people decided he or his things didn't belong there. Because he didn't meet their standards. Because he couldn't pick things the way they could. Because the constant jeering and contempt made him too nervous to speak properly. Because the constant pulling the rug from his feet made him be too self deprecating to make people like him. Because the constant craving for recognition made them find him an attention whore

Then the feeling of burning tear glistened eyes, feelings of rocks lodged in his stomach and throat became his normal... as he lived a life he couldn't feel was that of a living breathing human fledgling.

People found it acceptable that he could have anything done to him, including having his pants stripped out of him in front of everyone in class, only to get the nickname of piggy since he folded and shriveled into himself in burning shame as the children laughed merrily.

He found that if his body, traumatized by the aspect of going back to class got him a fainting spell, he was called sleeping beauty. He found that if his stomach protested the bugs his classmates got for him when his box 'mysteriously vanished' in the form of a puddle as large as the ones his tears made, he'd be called gero-chan

He found that he couldn't give back his assignment question papers back to the teachers since they tore after being soggy from his tear ducts that could for some reason  _never stop_ even though everyone around him scolded, screamed, shouted at him for being such a  _crybaby_

Then somehow, it became weird for people to actually care about him. Since the once who tried, later on in the years somehow came to him and apologized before completely ignoring him from the next day, or somehow disappear from the school. It also made his skin tingle uncomfortably when people didn't hurt him, since he'd be left in locked spaces he thought everyone would assemble in

And somehow, all his budget got spent in first aid kits and materials his mom bought him... and his eyes that lingered on toys, and new things his classmates bought... remained lingering over them

And then later, he finally got friends! And it was very painful... but he was used to it, but he realized that they lost interest and left him alone when they weren't stressed or they finished de-stressing. And that was no good. So he manipulated to grow their range a bit, because as everyone claimed, he was an attention whore...

And before the summer vacation, his lips stretched to both sides in an upside down manner from what he had experienced in his life and he felt something he didn't want to let go off yet. It was something he could beg for if they wanted him to, since his old 'friends' made him do that for their precious company.

And now... since Gesso revealed unnecessary things to Hibari, he would bite him to death... and then everyone would get the OK to continue what they did before

But Tsuna...

Tsuna wanted a bit more time in that dream land... and he knew he was selfish to ask of that... and from observation, he remembered Yamamoto who went with the flow, so he wouldn't do something stupid like be the only one to be his friend in the town, since that was how people 'mysteriously disappeared' from the town

'I've always felt that when people get born in this world, you can determine whether they're a winner or loser from one thing' he thought as big fat tear drops fell from his eyes

'It was the ability to choose

Since for people like me, things are chosen for us and we have no right to refuse or no opportunity to refuse

Since people like Yamamoto could refuse to have something done to them and get their opinion listened to.'

He couldn't move from his spot, his body didn't want to face the music. If he could drown in his fantasies, he would. Wait, he still had the gun-

Suddenly, he heard footsteps shuffling hurriedly towards him as bushes scrunched loudly and his heart beat loudly muting his surroundings

Two figures broke into his field of view, one sweating and the other breathing fast. Almond colored eyes pinpointed his prone figure just as violent eyes flared at his sight

"Tsuna! We finally found you! We've been searching all over for you today!" Yamamoto shouted gleefully as his posture slackened instantly, moving closer to the brunette

"Hibari's committee member told me that they spot suspicious people leaving the shrine, but they lost track of them" the jock tried explaining their presence to calm the brunette down a bit looking at his tense form

Hibari on the other hand marched straight towards him and squatted, forcibly removing the gloves and the bandages and glared with so much malice, Tsuna wished he could bring up his courage and tail out of there. Yamamoto's expression didn't lessen that feeling

'This is it.

It's all over'

"I'll bite them to death"

"Hibari-san, we already run them out off town. It's pointless to track them down and teach them another lesson since the last one already got them prostrating to the ground"

Yamamoto ran a finger over the burnt skin, earning a hiss from the brunette making his eyes dim a dark brown.

"Sorry Tsuna... We weren't there when you were in trouble. I knew that I should have forcibly brought you along for our vacation if this was to happen..." he said angrily

"It was an oversight for the discipline committee to leave the forest alone. It was used for trafficking, and other illicit activities" Hibari growled, a dark aura seeping all over the area

The prefect towered over the brunette's frame

"I've received information from an irritating marshmallow. How much of it's true?" his eyes gleamed in a way that promised punishment for any lie or misdirection

"It's true"

Then Hibari's eyes shone menancingly and he spoke

"Don't think I left you off the hook from misusing the system I established in Namimori. But that would come after I bite those herbivores to death for encroaching what I protect"

Tsuna looked at the prefect in shock until the taps at his shoulder directed his attention towards the jock

"Seriously Tsuna, you get yourself into really big trouble. I'm just letting you know in advance, that's gonna be the last time things go this bad. From next time, I'll be here facing a pissed Hibari-san with you covered in bruises, ahahahaha"

Hibari looked at Yamamoto in irritation and clicked his tongue as he reluctantly accepted that the other would be lingering around both of them. He turned to Tsuna

"As for the punishment, you would be the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, seeing how easily you exploit the flaws of the system. You will correct them, right?" he threatened

"Heh?! What about you Hibari-san?!"

"As the new Hibari head, Namimori is already under my jurisdiction. I don't need an official title to keep an eye on the town. Besides, I'm working on establishing a network to monitor activities that 'influence' Namimori" he said side glancing the brunette making him anxious about how much he knew

"I refuse" it slipped before he could rein himself in. He tensed preparing himself to be bitten for disobedience, but it never came

Hibari just boredly suggested an alternative

"You either do that or form a Vigilante group, seeing how much you like getting people out of trouble, going how far you go to direct every rage to yourself"

Yamamoto perked at that and piped in

"Hey, that sounds pretty interesting. Since you're a trouble maniac, we could be like a rag tag group of super heros

Prepare for trouble, make it double-"

"That's a villain's line! And I don't search for trouble"

"Right... tsundere

Since I don't hear you complaining about the idea, let's make one"

'I can't even manage my own problems, and you want me to help others?

… Well... I've never tried that out. I wonder how that will play out? I wonder if it'll matter' he thought remembering laughter from all sides and wondering if there is anyone who'd like it if the worst, most stupid, weakest and most worthless person in Namimori, Dame-Tsuna helped them?

But leaving that aside, amidst the one sided cheer from Yamamoto, the stoic attitude of Hibari the peace he felt made him wonder...

If this was what it felt like to be home?


	10. Keep what you consider dear close by Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khr ain't mine  
> Note: The card was to track the position of the bearer, aka Tsuna. As for Byakuran's intents, it'll be revealed slowly. But then if it's a bit too hidden, then I'll explicitly mention them after a lot of it has been hinted. It's because, it's a major spoiler on the story. I'll say this, the angst hasn't even started! Muhahaha!  
> Ryohei might take some time to show up... I still have to establish some things first
> 
> Go ahead and review on the chapter if you wanna comment, point an error or anything else, or if it gets too confusing pop in a question.
> 
> Warning: Long Chapter
> 
> I wanted to make em easy to read, but this happened, lol. Anyway, let me know if you like em longer (;) lol)
> 
> Hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> This is a 2 part POV of what happened when Tsuna was kidnapped.

** Chapter 10 **

** You never know what you had until you lost it **

** Part 1 **

Even though people feared Hibari as the ultimate tyrant of Namimori, the title whispered by the residents of the town, most of the actual action was taken by the coordinator of his direct orders, Kusakabe Tetsuya. The ex-delinquent was in charge of the town when the demon went out for meeting the collaborators of the Hibari family (more like their slaves since it made some sense that the family of a tyrant would be tyrants) and that was during the Namimori vacation

Kusakabe looked over the reports from the committee members that were on rounds and the faculty attendance reports to check if the numbers matched up. His eyes fell on the names of those who didn't go to the trip

'Irie Shoichi, Yamamoto-san and Tsuna-san only, huh? The Yamamoto family went on a trip and Irie Shoichi was witnessed at the the Namimori super-mart...

I remember Tsuna-san being invited to come along to their family trip...

So he's probably there'

There was something niggling his mind but he shrugged it off

'Tsuna-san should have changed, since he has Kyo-san and Yamamoto-san with him now...

Also the security in town is carefully guarded and nothing suspicious can be carried out'

The teen frowned, chastising himself for being paranoid

'I guess his first impression hasn't rubbed off me'

He turned to his desk and typed out a summary of the state of the town to email the prefect and when his fingers typed out Tsuna's status his eyes lingered on the screen for seconds longer before he looked over the email and hit send

The town was pretty peaceful and rounds ended smoother than it normally did and it made Kusakabe feel confident that his worries were merely paranoia

'If the town's this peaceful, Tsuna-san shouldn't be here

Since for better or worse, he's a trouble magnet. Maybe that's why Kyo-san is fond of him'

Since it was the vacations, Hibari had entrusted him with the task of finding people to upgrade the means for better security

And the DC committee found it in the form of a young redhead Irie Shoichi and enlisted him to help them since the lad was good at robotics. His background was checked and a report was sent to the prefect who only glared at it, but Kusakabe didn't let it discourage him since the other pretty much glared at anything and everything

In the end, the DC-committee vice head took it as approval and made a request to make hibird bots for surveillance to which the redhead was surprisingly gung-ho about

Kusakabe made hot tea in the DC club room while wating for the inventor to arrive and was a bit startled to see a drowsy Irie holding a box as he clamored into the table babbling pleasantries

Suspicion flashed into his brain as he remembered Hibari's glare as he was a bit startled to see someone so willing to help the committee's cause

"The Hibird bots are still at its prototypes and this is just to give a preview on things it could do so that the committee members can change the design based on their needs"

Temporarily distracted by the lifelike similarity of the bot to the real deal, he forgot his trail of thought and leaned closer to pay attention

The day ended with a teen awed at the prowess of technology and in fact, the teen was so awed he allowed the other to conduct several test runs around the town to gather data for a manual on what they could and couldn't do

The week rolled over to the weekends and the elvis-wannabe as Yamamoto playfully quipped started a video call with the prefect to discuss issues. Hibari's sharp eyes ran over the teen and he straightened up by fractions as he waited for the prefect to begin his questions

"There were more hibirds than usual in the security footage for the week"

Hibari had personally trained the birds surprising the committee. They hadn't know he was soft for small animals and it was bizarre how he could identify each of them with the other

"Irie Shoichi had made them for surveillance"

He could see Hibari frown and he hurried to justify the action

"We took a complete background check-"

"But you still let him make them without sending the footage he took when testing them?"

"The bots didn't have a memory capturing feature when he was explaining it to me..." he trailed off when he saw the surprised expression the other had when he asked the question

"...Kyo-san, was there something in the background check we left out?" he asked partly hurt that the prefect didn't trust their check. The other just quirked his eyebrow as he returned the question with another question

"I had doubts after reading the report you sent"

"It didn't seem like anything unusual. We even took a personal interview with the Irie's parents to make sure we got a trustworthy person"

"..."

After that the only responses Hibari made with the summation of the events were clipped and it worried the ex-delinquent, but he remained silent keeping in mind to make another background check when the call ended

Hibari looked at his computer contemplating the information given to him. It was clear as day that Kusakabe thought he felt doubt towards the redhead, that the other elaborated in detail whatever Irie did. The demon prefect glared at the profile given to him as he weighed the prospect of telling his speculations to his assistant. But if it was one thing he hated, it was misleading people with incomplete or false information

A video was sent with the committee members interviewing the redhead's parents

He remembered each line they spoke after watching it for 4-5 times

"Our Shoichi finally started thinking about the future seriously. He stopped practicing on instruments. We would have supported him, but he didn't have any talent in music... We were worried, but it turned out fine. It seemed like one day, he finally realized the truth and started doing something that would be great for future prospects"

It was not only the sudden change from liking music to robotics that piqued his interest, it was also how his tastes shifted towards white clothes. He didn't believe that people could change easily, but then some people did and he didn't have anything concrete to tie Irie as a plausible enemy of Namimori

* * *

But it was like his worries didn't stop there. The next day, Kusakabe left messages that the testimony of Nana Sawada didn't match with the situation of Namimori

He sat irritated, as the video call started and the other rushed to explain everything

"We reached the Namimori household as one of the bots crashed there during a failed test run. Then as she passed the bot to us, she commented 'You committee members would have the 2 months as busy as ever, especially since the yearly trip got cancelled this year'

Sawada Tsunayoshi wasn't found in Namimori and we haven't got the contact number of the Yamamotos to call them during the vacation..."

Hibari had assumed they checked with them before giving the report to him, but to think that it was all based on assumption...

He grit his teeth, fury seeping through his body and ignored the frantic stream of apologies from his assistant as he hung up the call to give a message to Yamamoto, being in touch as a result of their mutual friendship to Sawada Tsunayoshi. He got an immediate reply from the jock and as expected, it wasn't any good

His mood was slipping into darker territories since he knew of the shenanigans the brunette got into for 'fun'. Seeing that Yamamoto's following messages turned more and more frantic, He the situation into simple terms

"Tsunayoshi lied about going to the trip to his mom and lied to you about staying at home so that the ends at his side are tied, seeing that his mom would never believe that her family is falling apart and you would tell me that he's holing up at his place since we've both seen him do that enough to not be suspicious"

The reply was instant

"Not again!"

He didn't need to be told the obvious and he knew he had to find the brunette and pronto. The brunette's actions often lead to the more chaotic aspects of his town being revealed

Thankfully, he finished with his work there for the moment and could return to the town. He'd need to be there to sort the train-wreck that was Sawada Tsunayoshi

So he reached Namimori in a few days, while being given reports that ended the search of the brunette in failure

His frustration was in the peaks when he entered the town and was promptly surprised by Yamamoto's appearance. Noticing his expression, the other elaborated

"Well, you weren't replying to my messages and I got worried" He grinned and reached to his pocket and showed a picture and it seemed like the chairman couldn't catch a breadth

"I asked a friend who asked an uncle of another friend. Well, this uncle owns a pub and he takes pictures of people who sit at a place for a long time without doing much... You know, act suspiciously

I was surprised that Tsuna was in a place like that. He even disguised for that. Our place also had sake for the customers. If he wanted to try out the stuff, he could have asked us, ahaha"

Despite his light tone, he knew that there was something else. They both knew, from past experiences. When the brunette did sneaky, it was for the more interesting, more darker things

Yamamoto thought that Hibari would be investigating the bar with the DC committees but then he noticed the intense stare he gave him, like he was being expected to do something

'Well what do you know... Never thought there'll be a day when Hibari-san would want me to help out. I guess it's 'cos I'm the one in contact with the witness'

He moved in the direction of the pub and words flew from his mind from the excitement, the surprising reveal brought him

"Ahaha, I never thought that Hibari-san and I would be walking together like this on an investigation. Then, if you're Sherlock, can I be Watson?"

The prefect didn't reply and spent the time observing his surroundings, not that the jock minded

'He's as serious about Namimori... I guess it's more because it involves Tsuna in this case. It'd be better if we find him soon. I got a bad feeling about this...

Then we could go back to those days of having lunch in the school roof and having fun...' his smile stilled for a moment as worry crept into his mind

Pushing aside any bad scenarios he flung the bar door open and laughed away the glare the prefect sent him for his callousness

The pub owner seemed to be unfazed by his flashy entrance, being used to his demeanor but his face turned pale when he saw the baseball lover's ,ahem, friend. The friend who raised his tonfa as warning against any forms of protest

Hibari spoke for the first time since their walk there

"Where is he?"

The owner wasn't a fool. He knew about the lad who had gotten the favor of the demon of Namimori, and his body stiffened in panic as his eyes darted to the only friendly person in the room. Yamamoto showed a sympathetic smile towards the man as he spoke out

"Maa, maa, Hibari-san. You're scaring him"

It didn't change how Hibari changed his stance towards the other, but Yamamoto continued, since it'd bring the scared man's attention towards him as a friendly ally

"Owner-san, we've been searching for a friend of ours. It's the teen in the photo you've captured. Do you know where he'd have gone or who he had gone with?" he said as he purposefully darted his eyes to the prefect.

The man followed his eyes and felt the subconscious threat from the possibility of angering the chairman of Namimori and spoke the information Yamamoto knew that he had, since the fame of Sawada Tsunayoshi (well it was anybody who garnered Hibari protection) was widespread

Since there was no reason to take photos of suspicious people in the bar... but there were people who wanted to sabotage his only friend...

Adding to the fact that Hibari-san wanted his location...

It was killing two birds with one hand, even if it was mean spirited

"H-he had gone out with a small green haired boy. I-I-I couldn't get a good shot of him. I-if I did, I would have definitely showed it to you, I swear!" he whimpered, but the prefect wasn't having any of that

"Give me all the photos you've taken on that night" his glare was a clear message that he didn't buy that the picture taking wasn't taken nefariously.

'Geez... Hibari-san is too honest. These kind of things are better hidden' It was the kind of trick he used to gain favors or string people along his rides

When they finished asking the people around the bar and the people who were there at the night of the incident, Yamamoto piped up

"Hibari-san. Can I also come along to help search?" he bowed a little to emphasize the request, his face schooling into a more sincere expression as his more calculating side appeared. Hibari stared intensely at his slightly sharper gaze, the only thing which gave out his harmless facade

'I figured that Hibari-san would notice the important details'

"Hn"

They reached the Hibari mansion, a place that the prefect dragged Tsuna, followed by the baseball-lover who tagged along usually, for getting the brunette to implement one of the many blurted ideas (when the lad couldn't contain his sarcasm) that the demon fancied

(Woe is Namimori)

It was a bit lonelier since the guy who played glue in their relationship was missing

When Yamamoto entered Hibari's room, he reached the main point of conversation

"So Hibari-san, do you know what kind of kid followed Tsuna?"

Kusakabe entered the room with tea just then

"Kyo-san, I brought tea since I heard you returned-" and looked surprised at their new guest

"Yamamoto-san? What brings you here? If you're here... Then Tsunayoshi-san-!" his face brightened up instantly, only to sober by the abrupt sentence the prefect said

"He's still missing"

the other continued, hoping to clear up the situation

"We found a lead. Tsuna was at a bar and met a kid. The people there saw them both catch up on something and then they both left. The people around the town saw the two move somewhere..."

the 'Elvis-wannabe' realized the hidden meaning in there and spoke, upset

"So Tsuna-san tricked the kid, but he must have known who he was, but it wasn't the same for the other..."

The three of them practically knew Tsuna's social life (or the lack of it) so there was no chance the two were previous acquaintances. So it only meant that Tsuna played off the acquaintance-bit to get the information he needed. But it also meant that the boy was dangerous. Since it was either Tsuna looking for danger or the other way around, unfortunately

"But the problem is... who is he? And who is he associated with?"

Hibari looked like he had a lead for finding the kid, but he didn't comment. So the two waited until the other made a move, which he did when the Hibari parents arrived home

The chairman directly broached the topic

"Who is this kid?"

His father looked at the kid wearing cow patterned clothes and having an Afro, and recognition flashed in his eyes. Yamamoto thought that he would skirt around the topic, but he simply said

"That's Bovino Lambo, from the Bovino Famiglia"

It was so simply and blandly stated, like it was a mundane topic that the jock had to run the statement twice in his head to truly comprehend the weight behind it

'Famiglia? Wait... isn't that the Italian mafia?!' his eyes wildly darted towards a shocked Kusakabe and then to a furious prefect. The shocked confusion he had on his face at the thought of such a presence being accepted in the town Hibari protected was addressed by the venomous response Hibari Kyoya spat out

"Why do you allow them to roam here?"

His father replied ,bored since he expected the question

"It's because their target and our target ended up being the same. Those guys keep the other Mafia out of here in their gang wars, so they fight our battles and we don't have to use our forces and we can use them for other things. It's mutually beneficial. One of their heads have people they want to protect here too, even though those people are ignorant to these"

"Is it worth the price of getting the people of Namimori kidnapped?!"

That got his attention and he looked at them seriously

"What happened?"

"We have circumstantial evidence that the child might have abducted Sawada Tsunayoshi" he said as he threw the photos on the table looking disgusted at the prospect of willingly submitting to the scum who do such atrocities

But that changed into confusion as his father let out a shocked "Impossible". His mother peaked at the photos as she looked at them with similar confusion as she elaborated

"But Sawada Tsunayoshi is Sawada Iemitsu's kid. He's one of the heads of Vongola, the famiglia the Bovino head candidate was supposed to meet"

The jock felt like some of the truths he considered obvious was threatening to drown him in the confusions that piled up, his expression completely unguarded for once

'Tsuna as Mafia? There was a plan for a meeting with the Mafia members?'

"But the Sawadas shouldn't know about the father's employment. Dear, were there any rumors or documents leaked?" she continued as if his world wasn't turned upside-down

"I've ensured that it was top secret"

Yamamoto couldn't let his mind process things properly from that point. The day passed in a blur and with the sheer ridiculousness his normal life became, he let his imagination and desperation run wild. So he brought up a crazy idea when the three were alone

* * *

"...How bout we check out the Namimori forest?"

Kusakabe looked at him like he had lost his head

"It's not charted and it has high magnetic fields because of its soils' high iron content. We'd definitely get lost. Besides, no one goes there. We ensure that"

"Just like how we have Mafia lingering in this town? Rendezvousing with other famiglias? Next thing you know, my father's an ex-assassin hiding in this town and there'll be an all powerful old man at an antique store!

For all the security the DC committee boasts off, you guys can't even notice something as big two Mafia groups meeting in a town as small as ours"

It brought out a competitive streak in Hibari as his eyes gleamed as he spoke

"Is that a challenge I hear, herbivore?"

It could be that his sanity was on a much needed vacation, but he stood up and loomed in a threatening fashion and rose to the taunt

"I'm definitely going to win that game, Hibari-san"

They spiritedly left the room leaving a lamenting Kusakabe as the distraught man hid his rising headache as he began plotting countermeasures when things head south

But the two talented youth refused his precautionary measures, waging their pride and skills as they audaciously dubbed him as a coddling mother. At this point, Kusakabe was too irritated to reason with them, having spent the half day collecting ropes and blow horns, dog whistles with a trained pack for tracking. He even bothered on getting fireworks and neon paint, only for them all to rendered useless

"Maa maa, Kusakabe-san, don't worry so much. We'll get there somehow. Something will work out"

"But Yamamoto-san, we don't even know if there's a something in the first place!"

"Ahahaha"

"Kyo-san, Yamamoto-san would end up getting lost. There's no need to follow such foolishness"

"..."

"Kyo-san? Please don't tell me you're serious?! Kyo-san?!"

It was dusk, with the sun fading away and Yamamoto moved wherever his eyes stuck towards. It was something that helped him, in his life. He would always know that something was right, but he couldn't explain why or put his reasoning in words.

So he gave up on thinking about it and instead followed his trusted intuition and then when he pushed against a curtain of leaves, he saw a new street with their inhabitants glaring or leering at him and his mind instantly started sending distress signals

"This is a pretty shady place"

"Hn"

He turned towards the prefect, surprised at the other's sudden appearance

"This is a clearing in the forest" the prefect said looking at the direction of the sun. It seemed to be in the direction opposite to where the first saw the sun. The jock remembered the times he saw the sun set on his way from school when he took the forest detour, which had been frequent enough to let him memorize its position. The two positions seemed to directly opposite to each other, hinting that they were at a position close to Namimori, but facing the opposite side

Hibari seemed to be kicking up at dirt, so the jock peered curiously to see what the other was up to when he said

"The DC committee was assigned to build in a 5 inch marble tile mark under the soil which strictly marked the end of the forest"

'Yeesh! Talk about meticulous! Who knows how many km round the boundary should be...'

"Oh, so then... we're definitely somewhere in the forest huh?"

The prefect didn't deem his reply with an answer, but focused on scouting the area instead. Shrugging, the jock asked a milder bystander questions regarding recent events

"Hibari-san, these guys have seen two kids get chased by yakuza"

That was when Hibari's patience seemingly snapped. Mildly peeved, the other inferred the reason for the irritation

'I guess Namimori having yakuza was the last straw. I better not stay too close to him. The only one who stays nearby when he's at that mode is Tsuna...' he moved in the direction the two kids supposedly ran to avoid getting depressed by his own thoughts

They reached a scorched place and when the two perceptive teens saw a burnt piece, things took a bad turn in their thought process. The air around Hibari turned chokingly tense, while any traces of a smile vanished from Yamamoto. The two had spent enough time staring at the pictures of incidence to tell who the piece of cloth belonged to

The prefect brought out a luminol from his blazer. Apparently, the prospect of a challenge wasn't enough to distract him from the ultimate goal. He sprayed it around the area of the cloth and saw faint glowing, making him glower darkly

"What does the glowing mean?"

"Blood stains around the time he went missing, judging by its faint glowing. But it was a large amount, since the glowing is on a wide area"

Yamamoto kneeled to inspect the area closely and after sometime, found bullets scattered around. His heart felt like it was shattering. It was like it was his mother all over again...

He couldn't trust himself to speak. Then it was Hibari who put the final nail in the coffin

"I found corpse remains that more or less match his frame amongst several"

It was uttered without the purpose Hibari usually carried himself with. It was emotionless

Even though Yamamoto felt like an entire century passed from when he was sitting there, Hibari didn't seem to mind, as he blankly took the sight of his surroundings.

Then there was distant chatter heard and the two saw some burly, scarred men carrying guns and gunny bags around. It was as if the air had chilled to freezing points and Yamamoto shivered, as he felt something other than numbness. It then shifted it something cooler, sharper and crueler as he felt himself reaching out for the blade concealed as a shinai

Eyes glared at them, as taunts and safety handles were unlocked with a click. Scary adults surrounded them as the two of them moved forward. Hibari bolted towards them, brandishing both tonfas with the chains he refused to use, but was fascinated enough to attach when he first heard about it. It had thorns to rip flesh after latching onto skin and it brought out the screams he felt, was in dire need in this situation, especially seeing that he was hardly appropriate for the task. The tears they shed in pain as he broached deeper into dangerous territory as gunshots sang in the background, felt more appropriate

There was a person with a fancy suit babbling some weak words, that he couldn't spare the time to listen, for all the irritating words and inappropriate smiles aimed at him which could chill his blood from imagining the situations the speaker spoke... or the twinkling his eyes adopted with another possibility and the anticipation for another day, another meet with a person who wouldn't shy away from his company... and suddenly it was ephemeral and now nothing but memories and a dream for a future that could have been...

The red that painted the room didn't affect him as deeply as the glow, the trusted liquid he had carried for different investigations ended up making his stomach clench. Or perhaps, was it from exhaustion?

On the other side of the one-sided battlefield where regardless of the outcome, there was no winner or loser, was a teen who lived with a mask. Funny enough, there was a deep bond with the person who would have been lying in a proper grave maybe alongside his, if he had made that decision that day. That day he went to the deep end with someone else, but got a person who wouldn't judge him, someone who tied threaded bonds around his fingers to others that ran deeper than blood. It tied him to people who he could understand and be understood in return. It brought him to place where he could be a part of, created a place where he could belong without worrying about how his eccentricities could scare those people away... Especially since their own brand of strangeness was equal to his, or sometimes, even stranger

It brought him the burden of guilt. Regret that he didn't insist. Regret that he didn't maintain contact. Regret that he couldn't say good bye.

He mechanically brought the gunny bags from the storage, his mind stubbornly insisting that without visual proof, it can't possibly be true. They must have been mistaken. Somewhere in these there must be that cheeky teen that gave them the fright of their lives, and was able to single-handedly make them bald due to stress

Then they would laugh in the next morning after they spent the entire day chiding him to take precaution or at least bring them next time. Then maybe next time, they'd get burned and gunned to death together...

As it turned out, there were people in the gunny bag, but not the ones they would be glad to see. Yamamoto looked at their disturbed faces as they lay down on the ground unconscious, breathing softly and thought

'If it was only him that had to go through all that, but these guys get to sleep peacefully like this... I wonder why did they get the right to live? What did he need to get that right? Was it something which we could have given him?'

When he felt another person behind him, he turned to look at the teen, as he stood in his entire glory and title well deserving of the demon of Namimori, fully soaked in blood, but calmer and quieter than before. The demon spoke

"They were trafficking humans out of Namimori." he said it like it was something someone said to him. It was most likely the confessions from the souls in the scene of the bloodbath

He looked into the midnight sky shrouding them in the darkness he felt at the moment.

'I wonder if it is possible to go back in time to redo things. I'd love to do that, so that I can spend a second longer with...'


End file.
